Breaking Bones
by myboygeorge
Summary: Workplace romance is hard to avoid in a place like the Enterprise, so what happens when two equally stubborn crew members try to talk their way out of their mutual attraction? Set between Into Darkness and Beyond, M for language and content. Enjoy!
1. Better Days

'You really are a royal pain my ass, Melanie, you know that?'

Bones all but glared laser beams into the video console of his desk communications centre where he saw the equally pissed off projection of his nefariously snotty ex-wife. The temptation to drag his hands over his face was strong but he would have French-kissed a straight razor before giving Melanie the satisfaction of seeing she'd gotten to him tonight.

'What I am is short on money.'

'I told you-'

'Don't you love your daughter, Leonard? Don't you _care_ about her schooling? Not all of us are doctors who are so cold-hearted that we abandoned our families to go play space pirates halfway across the galaxy,' Melanie spewed at him, making it hard for Bones to believe he'd once found her so beautiful when riled up. 'What would you like me to say to the school, to our child when she is sent home from school because the payment didn't go through? I still would like to be able to show my face in this city you know.'

'Melanie, I already told you, we were experiencing interference in our outbound communications signal due to the asteroid field passing through the planetoid's orbit where the crew were on a diplomatic mission to the Shavian colony. We couldn't even get signals through to Star Fleet about our mission, nevermind-'

'Nevermind my ass, Leonard,' she spat. 'Thank god I got the money this morning, I have things to look after here since you just don't want to be the responsible father Joanna expects you to be.'

Bones felt a sick punch in his gut at the mention of his twelve year-old daughter's name; Joanna, the one thing he'd gotten right in his life beyond his career as a doctor. He missed her with a tangible ache, and had gone to bed more than once in his quarters playing her video messages over and over just to hear her sweet voice. 'Mel, whatever happened between us to make you hate me so much aside, I love Joanna. I've loved her since before she was born and nothing will ever change that.'

'Then send the fucking money she needs on time or I'll have my attorney tell you what comes next.'

'You weren't- bah, dammit!' Bones swore as his video-chat feed vanished, Melanie having cut him off and he was left staring at the last picture he'd taken with Joanna on his last shore leave on Earth seven months before. They'd gone to Golden Gate Bridge park and spent the day at a music festival, getting matching Grateful Dead t-shirts as souvenirs - blue for him because of his status as a science officer, green for her as a civilian attache. She looked so much like her mother and had inherited nearly all of his personality which surely had to drive Melanie nuts.

Huffing out a short sigh and dragging his hand across his face, he leaned back in his chair and grumbled behind his palm, then got his second unwelcome jolt when he heard the voice over his shoulder.

'Bones? Should I come back later?'

Good god, the universe hated him today, Bones thought miserably as he took a moment to school his face out of the gargoyle-like snarl Melanie infallibly put there then turned him around to face the other woman causing him grief these days. 'No, Nurse Chapel, I could use a distraction.'

Bones tried not to think about the way the skirt on Christine's regulation blue uniform swished over her lush yet athletic legs, nor the way she always carried the scent of lemon meringue pie on her skin. Her eyes were worried, even as she smiled and took a seat across the desk from him.

'I hope I didn't catch you at a bad time.'

'I just got off the comm with my ex-wife, ragging me out about being late with the child support payment due to our away mission last week.'

'I'm sorry,' Christine replied, and truly meant it - nothing made her feel worse than seeing Bones upset; he was always so cocksure and full of swagger that seeing him in such a state made pity swell inside her like a switched had been flipped. She tried to think of something clever to say but Bones was already getting the rest of the vitriol out of his system.

'Woman's more trouble than she is worth most days. Don't know how my Jo puts up with her.'

Now it wasn't gentle sympathy but a sucker punch Christine felt in her gut. _Jo,_ she thought, _your daughter, because you are older than me, and have been married and have a child_. She forced the school-girl romantic notions of him back into the farthest corner of her mind she could reach at the moment and opened the tablet cover she'd set on his desk. 'I brought you the calendar I drafted for scheduling the crew's six month check-ups and I promise I didn't double book anything this time.'

'You're my senior medical aide, not my secretary Christine,' Bones reminded her, 'but I appreciate it.'

'I also brought you the updates on those viral samples you were incubating, and logged my own notes on the hydroponic greenhouse I've been working on with Uhura. Thought you might like an update on some of the plants she's helping me grow for alternative remedies.'

'Hydroponic greenhouse?' The moment the words were out, Bones felt like an ass at the sharp flicker of disappointment in her eyes.

'Yes, the captain gave us permission to use part of one of the cargo holds for our experiment, and it is turning out even better than we hoped. We've even given a few remedies out for minor issues to keep the hard stuff stocked for when it's truly needed.' Christine steeled herself against any flutterings he dredged up in her. 'Perhaps if you have a spare moment this evening, you'll be able to come down and see what we have accomplished?'

'Yeah, that sounds good, I'll think about it.'

'If that's all, I think I'll head to the mess hall. The kitchen sent out a memo that they're doing Mexican food tonight.' _Damn it_ , she scolded herself, unable to resist. 'Would you like me to have them save you a bowl of chilli in case you don't make it down?'

'Yeah, that would be great, Christine, thanks.'

Christine flashed him a little smile, unaware of how that quick moment made his belly tight, his heart pump a little harder, and made a quick exit; only when she was in the lift to go fetch herself some dinner did she let out the sigh she'd been holding in the whole meeting. _Smarten up_ she reminded herself. No matter how much she fantasized about what was under that snug blue tunic, she would only ever be his colleague; besides the whole doctor-nurse cliche, she was still given plenty of side-eye by some crew members over the reasons she'd come back to the _Enterprise_ in the first place. The last thing she needed was the gossip mill churning once more over her personal life.

When she reached the mess hall, got her cafeteria tray to make her selection with the chef, she found a thermal container deposited on her tray without a single request. Glancing up, Christine saw Ensign Kinney give her a wink.

'Bones texted the chef, said you'd be coming in to grab him a bite to eat. Late night in the office?'

'I think he just needs some alone time.'

'Well that chilli is loaded with beans from Oaxaca and Rigel Seven so he'll have lots of alone time once he gets a taste of that.' Kinney gestured at the bowl with his serving ladle. 'Say hi to him, and tell him that rash cleared right up with your Aleutian mint paste.'

'Sure thing, Kinney.'

Christine took her seat at a table for two near the door so she could sneak out with Bones' bowl with what she hoped would be little to no notice, but it was not to be; she'd barely lifted the spoon to her lips when Chekov sat down across from her, combing his fingers through his tousled curls.

'Good ee-wening Nurse Chapel, I heard rumours it is you who are in charge of ze crew medical eh-wal-uation schedule? Zis is true?'

Christine had to laugh; there was something so sweet and cute about Chekov she wanted to treat him like a puppy. No wonder he was considered one of the ladies' men on the ship - who could say no to those soulful eyes?

'Yes,' she told him, 'it is true.'

'If possible, could my eh-wal-uation take place on ze first morning? I have plans to meet a friend after ze sving shift and I don't sink telling her ve cannot spend, uh, _time_ _togezer-'_ at this phrase, he gave her a meaningful look '-because of my appointment time vould be wery appreciated.'

'Hmm, let me see.' Christine pulled out her PADD, and called up the schedule. She had done it alphabetically by day and so Chekov was indeed near the start of list, but she knew this game well. She tapped the screen, pretending to move things around when she was really confirming her plans to meet Uhura, then smiled at him. 'Well since you asked so nicely, and I know it would be very cruel to Sayuri to make her wait, we'll expect you on day one at ten-hundred thirty-five.'

'I did not mention my friend's name, I zink, Nurse Chapel.'

'The only thing that flies faster than this ship is gossip. I think it's very sweet,' Christine reassured him, then felt her appetite vanish when the blinking message from _McCoy, L_ appeared on her PADD. She tapped it, breathed a little easier when she found the message reading that he would come and get the chilli from her in the greenhouse in an hour. Deliberately, she looked towards where Chekov had been sitting, but found the seat empty and a glance around told Christine he'd already jetted over to the pretty Japanese engineering ensign the good news. Looking down at her own meal, she found her appetite reduced but not gone and did her best to put away the enchilada without making herself sick or appear to be ungrateful.

The moment she'd done so to her satisfaction, Christine was heading down to the greenhouse where it was warm and welcoming as a summer's day. She changed out of her uniform and into coveralls before picking up the thermometer to check the temperature of the nutrient-rich growing solution. They'd transformed one half of the cargo bay with some help from engineering and physical plant staff: four long rows of tables were neatly marked into vegetables, fruits, herbs and hybrids. She and Uhura had used some away missions to bring back seedlings such as Barilkian potatoes and Cygnusian strawberries, as well treasures from home like heirloom tomatoes, portobello mushrooms and Aleutian mint. Despite the lack of soil, there was always a delightful earthy smell in the greenhouse, like the forest after a rainstorm.

Christine stopped when she reached the row of hybrid lemon plants; this one made her particularly proud. She'd blended a Meyer lemon seedling with Moravian sun-fruit seeds and the result had been a citrus product that tasted like pie and made an excellent addition to her exfoliating scrub recipe. She'd been unable to resist using herself as a guinea pig and once she'd discovered how soft it made her skin, she'd told no one so as to keep it her own little secret.

Unable to stop herself, Christine let her mind wander to Bones, thinking of his miserable expression when she'd walked into his office. Maybe she shouldn't be here, maybe she should have taken the chilli to him right away so he wouldn't have to feel obligated to come and see her in the greenhouse. Last thing she needed was to feel like he was taking pity on her; somehow that was even worse than a potentially outright rejection of her feelings about him.

She was so deep in her own swirling thoughts that when a finger poked her in the shoulder, she let out a short scream, as did the owner of the finger.

'Good god in heaven, Nina! You scared me!'

'Clearly,' Uhura replied on a shaky laugh as she tried to regain her wits. 'You were so deep in thought I figured my stomping around would break your concentration. What's got you so turned inside out?'

'Work stuff,' she replied on a shrug, feeling only three-percent slimy about the partial truth. Technically Bones was work stuff, right? 'The upcoming medical evals.'

'Ah, yes. It's why I never understood the male fantasy about a hot nurse,' Uhura admitted as she checked the zipper on her coveralls and tugged on her work gloves. 'How can it be a turn on to have someone poking and prodding at you with no romantic intention at all.'

'Bones says it's because lots of men have the fantasy of being completely and totally serviced by a woman who loves them.'

'Bones may have a point,' she replied, think of when Spock had contracted a strain of Vulcashi flu and he'd been miserable as a wet cat for three days straight. 'If Spock so much as sneezes wrong, he wants to be babied.'

'Really? That guy?'

'He's more human than you might think,' Uhura admitted with a resigned smirk and affable shrug. 'But I'm crazy about the man so what can you do?'

'What can you do,' Christine echoed under her breath, then sighed when she checked the water level. 'Think we have a busted hose, there's vitamin solution leaking into the aqueducts.'

'Oh, damn, alright, I'll go take care of it.

'No, I can-'

'Evening, Nurse Chapel.'


	2. Starving

Christine froze only a moment, turned at the sound of his voice. The frozen feeling gave way to a melting sunshine sensation when she saw Bones out of uniform and wearing a body-hugging steel blue shirt beneath a loose grey vest and equally loose fitting pants to match the vest. Gone was the pissy annoyance she'd seen in his office, replaced with bashful apology and genuine curiosity. She pressed her lips together stepped around the table to greet him.

'Kinney in the mess hall said you picked up something for me?'

'Right.' Christine bobbed her head, turned on her heel to go to the small office within the greenhouse, and Bones had no problem following her - it gave him the chance to ogle her behind, discreetly of course since Uhura was there; she came to an abrupt halt and he nearly bumped into her, catching himself at the corner of a hydroponic table instead of her ass. She turned around, beaming mischievously as she held out the container.

'One bowl of explosive blackout chilli, complete with blue cornmeal biscuits.'

'Thank you.' Bones lifted the lid, sighed in appreciation. 'Oh, this is gonna taste great. Did you already eat?'

'Yeah, and Chekov cornered me in the commissary, asked me if he would be early in the list since apparently he's got hot and heavy plans with Sayuri.'

'That boy's got more stamina than a jack rabbit when he gets his eye on his girl.' Bones closed the lid on the container, looked around. 'This is quite the set-up you've got here.'

'You came to see it when it was opened. Want a tour?'

'Sure, if you've got the time.'

'For you, I'll find time.'

Bones smiled, then groaned inwardly as she brushed past him once more, the smell of her hair catching him off guard; it was still that same intangible lemon pie scent that seemed to just waft right out of her pores.

'We have four main tables,' she began, and as she squired him around, any time she caught Uhura's gaze, she saw her friend smother a grin and quickly busy herself with whatever was closest to her at the moment. It was so unlike Uhura that Christine found it a chore to enjoy Bones' company, certainly a first for her in the months she'd been on the ship. It wasn't until they'd stopped at the hybrids and she showed him her lemon trees that she felt the itch on the back of her neck finally subside. 'These are my babies, my pride and joy.'

'You've bred your own plant species, that's quite impressive, Christine,' Bones told her, sincerely impressed and just a little awed; he knew she was smart and that her talent was with pharmaceuticals and botanical remedies but he had no idea she was capable of going right to the source to make it her own. 'What's this named?'

'Pride and Joy,' she replied, and snagged a small fruit to hold out for him. 'Here, take a whiff, what does that remind you of?'

Bones nearly passed out when he inhaled the fragrance - this was the scent of Christine, that delightful sunny fragrance that always heralded her presence. It conjured visions of the two of them on his family's horse farm in Kentucky, ready to jump in the lake for a clothing-optional cool down after a day of trail riding before they'd make love under the ancient oak tree that overlooked the pond and follow it up with a picnic of fried chicken, bacon-cured mustard greens and lemon meringue pie made from his family's secret recipe.

'Doctor?'

'Huh?'

Christine had to clench her jaw to keep from laughing at his utterly dazed expression. 'I said what does this remind you of,' she repeated, hold out one of the aromatic fruits.

'You,' he replied before he could stop himself. 'I mean, it smells like you.'

'I, ah, used some of the fruit in my soap-scrub recipe,' she admitted, suddenly fumbling for words as her brain tried to process his instinctive response. 'And the fruit itself is…um…it…'

She was suddenly aware of how close he was standing to her - she could have put her arm out and rested her wrist on his shoulder - and for a moment she thought she saw something in his eyes that had nothing to do with being a kind friend and patient mentor. _Professional, you are a professional_ , she reminded herself sternly, even as she could count the flecks of gold in his irises.

Bones felt his heartbeat thicken in his chest, seeing the way her eyes widened not so much in shock as in anticipation. Anticipation of what, though? Surely someone as beautiful and ambitious as her had set her sights on a higher prize than him, Bones told himself, then took a step closer, dipped his head lower.

'It's in your hair too,' he murmured, inhaling deeply, a cautiously hand reaching out and just brushing the loose strands out of her line of sight, letting his fingertips linger a little. 'You always smell like lemon meringue pie, and now I know your secret.'

'I was thinking…that um…maybe…' Oh God, what had she been thinking, Christine wondered as she threatened to lose herself in his sweet touch and embarrass herself entirely.

'Yes, Nurse Chapel?' God she was pretty when she was flustered, Bones thought, though it hadn't been his intention to make her uneasy at all. He was the one who'd slipped up and made the first move towards letting his heart be revealed to someone who could so gently destroy it with a simple and sweet denial.

Taking a step closer to her, now he could almost feel her breasts graze against his chest, but kept his gaze steady on hers even as his knees threatened to buckle.

'I…I have no idea what to say right now,' she admitted, his gaze locked onto her like a tractor beam, pulling her in. 'But maybe…I think maybe…'

'Maybe we shouldn't,' Bones suggested, taking another small step towards her. He could see the shape and outline of her mouth, the subtle ruby tone of her lip enhancer that carried an incongruously female scent as much as the siren call of her lemon whatever. Before he could register entirely what he was doing, his head subtly tilted to the side and he heard her suck in a breath as his lips-

 _CLAAAAAAANNNNG!_

They jolted apart, all but springing back at the sudden intrusion of noise, and Christine was ready to murder her friend, whose face appeared over the edge of the vegetable table.

'Sorry!' Uhura called out, 'my bad! Dropped a socket wrench!'

'I think I'll head out now, leave you ladies to your work,' Bones told Christine, sliding his hand down her arm and giving her gloved hand a quick squeeze. 'See you tomorrow.'

'See you tomorrow,' Christine echoed in a hollow tone; once the cargo bay doors gave the electronic chirp of open-and-close, she slumped sideways against the table, breath whooshing in and out in deep gasps as her mind raced to process what had just happened, and had been about to happen.

The peace of the moment was shattered by Uhura's uncharacteristically girly squeal of delight.

'Oh my God! Oh! My! God! Chrissy!'

Christine squinted an eye open, saw Uhura's popping wide as saucers as she all but bounced up and down like she was landing on an invisible trampoline. 'I-'

'You! And _Bones_! Oh my god, I can't believe it! You were holding out on me big time!'

'No-'

'I thought you were sweet on Chekov and were embarrassed because he's younger than you and he has a girlfriend! But _this_! This is even better!'

'Nina-'

'Tell me _everything_ ,' Uhura finished on a dramatic lowering of her voice, her dark eyes dancing merrily. She was so happy for her friend; she knew how much weight Christine still carried over her rather embroiled return to the _Enterprise_ and was utterly thrilled to see something so positive in the nurse's life as her working relationship with Bones. Now, she realized, there was a reason she'd started looking so cheerful over the last few months and his name was Leonard Bones McCoy. 'Seriously, I thought this would have come up by now about you two! When did this happen?'

'It hasn't and it won't,' Christine replied with such confident finality that Uhura's face fell faster than a ruined soufflé; any other time or circumstance, it would have been comical. Furious with herself to have been found out, she whirled away from her Pride and Joy trees, and went to finish fixing the faulty hose Uhura had been pretending to repair while obviously watching her like a hawk. 'I have spent enough of my time already on this ship being a joke.'

'A joke? What are you talking about?'

'Oh come on, everyone on this ship knows I was transferred here to serve a medical probation because I lost my mind and committed grand theft auto.'

'You were suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder because you'd been a medic in the Outer Rim's civil war and in a fugue state stole a vehicle you sincerely believed to be yours, so you were put into the care of people who could vouch for your character,' Uhura reminded her, reciting almost verbatim the transfer order's summary from when Christine had first arrived. 'You also had those same people recommend you for your commission here and you even received a commendation for helping to care for the victims of that flood when we arrived on Moravia.'

'That's only part of it,' Christine went on, checking Uhura's work and finding it well done. Needing something to occupy her hands, she took the infamous socket wrench and checked the security of all the bolts holding the piping in place. 'There's also the fact that he is my direct superior, a lieutenant commander, I'm just a lowly junior grade. He's my boss and a senior officer.'

'Strike two,' Uhura bubbled, her happy returning as she realized that Christine's carefully propped up arguments were built on nothing but straw. 'Because if that's inappropriate or unprofessional, then what do you call me beginning my relationship with Spock when I was a fourth year cadet and he already had a commander's rank, which is even higher than Bones?'

Christine let out a low snarl; this was not going how she thought it would and rather than comforting her it just seemed to make it worse. 'There's also the fact he is twelve years older than me.'

'No, he's not,' Uhura scoffed, then wrinkled her brow in confusion when Christine nodded. 'Really?'

'I'll be thirty three in ten days on the twenty-fifth of May, and his birthday is January twentieth, so if my math is right, that makes him forty-five.'

'Man, that whole age is just a number thing really is true, because he acts like he's twenty years younger.'

'Well there's another number to factor in there, and that number is twelve as in the age of his daughter, which makes things far less simple.'

'Christine, stop.' Uhura took her life into her hands and neatly tugged the wrench from Christine's grip, forcing her to stand up and look at her. 'You're naming a bunch of excuses for why you shouldn't be involved with a funny intelligent sexy single man who clearly likes you. Why else would he come down here?'

'I picked up dinner for him, he was coming to get it.'

'If that's all he wanted, he'd have taken it and gone.'

'We had a quick meeting at the end of shift, he'd promised to come and see the greenhouse. Pretty sure he only did it because I couldn't stop myself from feeling insulted he hadn't been down since we opened it in November.'

'And was nearly kissing you listed as part of said agenda?' When Christine stuttered, fumbling for an answer, Uhura felt the sweet rush of victory. 'Alright, here's what we're doing now. The children are well-fed-' she gestured to the plants '-so now Mommy and Auntie get to go to my quarters for a change of clothes and you are gonna tell me everything so we can come up with a plan.'

'A plan for what?' When Uhura just sauntered away, Christine felt licks of panic curl into her stomach. 'Plan for what?'

'So that when you guys get together, you won't feel awkward or off your game.'

'I'm already feeling awkward and off my game,' Christine muttered as she followed her friend out of the bay and into the lift, still in her coveralls as she nicked her tote bag containing her uniform and overnight clothes to take with her. 'But I appreciate the thought,' she added as Uhura commanded the lift for the level of officers' quarters.

'Shut it, Chrissy,' was Uhura's only response until they were safely ensconced in her modestly space yet tastefully appointed officers' suite. Double checking the lock, she went into the bathroom and pulled open the drawer where she kept her female biological products, as Spock called them, and produced a bottle of Romulan ale. 'When we are discussing highly girly topics like how long it's gonna take until you roll them bones, it's time to call in the heavy artillery.'

'Bad, bad joke, Nina,' Christine groaned as Uhura rustled up glasses, 'and where did you get that?'

'A Christmas gift from your guy, who knows a guy.'

'He's not my guy.'

'Horse shit, but don't fret, you'll own it when you're ready.' Uhura poured with a generous hand, thrust one glass between Christine's breasts. 'Down she goes, Lieutenant, and then we are heading for the Archer and Sparrow on the holodeck.'

Christine hesitated only a moment; she had very little head for hard liquor, something nearly the whole crew had discovered at the Christmas party when a few cups of Scott's whiskey-cider had put her in bed for two days, and she'd wondered if the woman wasn't trying to get her into a stupor so she could then nudge her down the hallway towards Bones' quarters. 'What the hell am I doing,' she mumbled, and knocked back the whole glass in a single go.

'Alright easy there tiger,' Uhura snickered, 'you'll barely be able to find your feet if you keep doing that all night.'

'I'm on shift at fifteen-thirty tomorrow, supervising the swing shift so I can sleep it off a little if necessary.'

'Swell. Start talking, missy.'


	3. Jinx

_Hi everyone! Been awhile since I've posted anything, and this is a story I've been working on for a while now...I hope you enjoy it! It was an absolute hoot and a half to write! Please be kind if you decide to review - I've only ever written 1 other Trek fic and that was a 1-shot for Voyager...this is my first full Trek story! Hooray for going where I've never gone before!_

* * *

While the two best friends headed for the holodeck pub to share hard liquor and salty girl talk, Spock was using his leisure-pause in the evening shift to march straight into the captain's ready room with a great amount of distress on his mind. Fortunately, he found Kirk enjoying one of his favourite leisure activities with Chekov and Sayuri - apparently the captain was teaching the navigator's lady friend how to play billiards, judging from the explanation he offered.

'Nope, you only keep it behind that line during the first break. If you sink the cue ball into any pockets during the game, your opponent can place it wherever they choose.'

'That seems a large penalty for such a small mistake.'

'Commander!' Chekov nearly knocked over his chair leaping to his feet in the presence of a superior officer, but Spock waved him off.

'As you were, Ensign. I regret interrupting your activities, however I must speak with the captain on an urgent matter and as I am using my regulated break-time on shift, my availability is limited.'

'Why don't you guys go down to the holodeck, play against each other,' Kirk suggested; once the pair were gone, he gestured to the table. 'Want me to reset and we can play a round ourselves? I know Vulcans value multitasking as a way to be efficient.'

'As enjoyable as it would be to conquer you once more, there is a serious matter I do wish to discuss.' Spock paused only a moment. 'And I believe if I look into my first officer's log, I will find you still are in my debt for twenty credits from our last game.'

'Did you come down here to break my kneecaps over it?' Kirk teased him, going to his wall-safe and retrieving his personal cash-stash to pay off his first officer.

'I came here to discuss our senior medical officer.'

'Bones? What's going on with him?'

'I believe he is suffering some type of undiagnosed neurological malady.'

Kirk's hand paused on the handle of the safe, turned his laser-blue stare onto Spock, whom the captain saw was deadly serious in his statement. 'What's got you thinking Bones has a problem?'

'I have just recently returned from speaking with him in his office in the medical bay, and when I noted several inconsistencies in a draft of his report he…'

'Oh for God's sakes, Spock, spit it out!'

'Sir, he…' Spock inhaled deeply. 'He _apologized_ to me.'

The blood left Kirk's head so fast he thought he might be having a stroke. 'Bones. Apologized. To _you?'_

'Certainly if he is just making the changes without resorting to sarcasm, as is his usual manner, there must be an underlying cause of deep severity. He was recently part of a diplomatic away mission, is it possible he contracted a virus that has lain dormant until now?'

'Actually, now that I think of it, he has been kinda distracted lately, ever since that away mission but that was also when he was out of touch with Joanna and Melanie back home,' Kirk admitted, his face darkening with concern for his longtime friend, and he'd had the rotten luck to have met his harridan of an ex-wife during a school play for Joanna. 'Maybe something happened and he isn't ready to talk about it?'

'Highly unlikely, as in my observations Doctor McCoy has very little ability to internalize his emotions. To use Nyota's vernacular, he is very much a sharer.' Spock folded his arms over his chest, drummed his long slender fingers on his elbows. 'Perhaps we each undertake a period of observation of him, reconvene with our findings and ask Bones to explain himself?'

'I like the way you think, but maybe instead of making it sound like we're gonna court-martial him just because he might have the sniffles, why not just invite him for a game of pool or something tomorrow night?'

'Billiards is a past-time he enjoys,' Spock agreed, then heaved a sigh. 'It would be a true loss if he does have some type of parasite ravaging his mind.'

'I'm pretty sure he doesn't have brain worms, Spock,' Kirk chuckled, tickled over how much of a drama queen his first officer was being, though at the heart of it there was solid reason to worry. Even when ill, Bones had always told Spock to stick it in his pointy ear, as this was the nature of their friendship. What the hell could have happened to him that Bones would forget something as vital to him as razzing his favourite green-blooded hobgoblin, as the good doctor often called him? 'I think Bones would be pretty capable of getting that taken care of.'

'Then what-'

Spock's next inquiry was cut off when the man in question suddenly walked through the doors and all but slammed the PADD Spock had given him into the Vulcan's chest, hard enough to knock him back a step. 'Look you arrogant bastard stepchild of Yoda, there is nothing wrong in my report, those are not inconsistencies, those are anomalies that are part of my medical study, so next time you wanna question my work get your facts right first.'

'Doctor, I fail to see why your reaction is so delayed if you are truly this displeased with my comments, however should you fail to maintain an appropriate distance from my personal space, I will have to resort to defensive tactics,' Spock warned him, making Bones take another step forward.

'Go on, hit me, I dare you, you ice-cold son of a bitch.'

'Doctor, threats will no longer be necessary forthwith.'

'Bones, Bones, just wait a moment, wait-wait-wait,' Kirk jumped in, seeing the blood in Bones' eye and the clench of Spock's fist. He stepped between them, then saw Spock sniffing like a bloodhound. 'Something wrong, Spock?'

'I detect a fragrance, Captain, something akin to slices of a citrus tart my mother and I enjoyed when I was a child.'

'Lemon meringue pie?'

'Yes, I believe that is the label she gave them.'

Kirk sniffed the air himself and discovered Spock was right, then leaned over and gave Bones the same treatment. 'It's you! You been replicator-baking or something?'

'No.'

Bones thought of the near kiss he'd had with Christine in the greenhouse, how embarrassed he'd been that he'd been so stirred only to be busted by Uhura that he'd been forced to make a hasty exit back to his office. Even more embarrassing was how much he'd wanted to follow up on that near-miss, consequences of all types be damned, but to reach out to Christine like that would have been a total betrayal of his conscience. When Spock had rousted him in his office, he'd been so deeply entrenched in his own thoughts he'd barely registered the first officer's reason for being there until he'd actually read through the report and begun to fume over Spock's almost condescending suggestions for editing. Now the whole mess had actually had him threatening his superiors on the ship.

Carefully he stepped back and composed himself. 'No, it's nothing like that. Forgive me for the interruption. If I'm needed, I will be in my quarters.'

Kirk and Spock both could only stand there with open mouths as they watched Bones dither a moment outside Kirk's ready room before going to his right and vanishing down a hallway. 'Okay, I stand corrected,' Kirk admitted to Spock, 'something is going on with our chief medical officer.'

'I feel compelled to reiterate my suggestion of gathering evidence and presenting him our concerns in a social setting. Not billiards, as I do not wish to deprive you of your whole salary, Captain, but something similar.'

'What about darts? Bones loves playing darts and it's a great way to get him to loosen his tongue.'

'Darts is acceptable.' Spock made a mental note to refresh himself on the rules; despite having discovered a great pleasure in 'walloping the Captain's ass at pool', as Bones had once said, a diversion from the usual form of frivolity would be most welcome. He turned to leave, then frowned once more. 'Captain, a query.'

'Sure.'

'What is a Yoda?'

Kirk chuckled richly, glad to have something to laugh about now that he had the sudden puzzle of Bones' roller-coaster bitchiness to solve. 'He's a character from the classical Lucas movie epics, tiny green warrior with pointy ears, a grumpy guy but loyal and brave. Actually, kinda like you.'

'I am not tiny, yet despite that flaw in your analogy I feel it is a compliment despite Bones' attempt at an insult.'

'Okay, he apologized to you twice and now you called him Bones. Am I in an alternate universe?' Kirk wondered aloud as he hit the button to dissolve the billiards table into nothing more than wavering light beams. 'We'll each keep an eye on him tomorrow, compare notes and talk to him.'

* * *

Back down on the holodeck, Christine and Uhura sat at a scarred oak table in the Irish pub program known as the Archer and Sparrow - a gift from the crew of the _Farragut_ to the _Enterprise_ after winning Star Fleet's annual Battleship exercises - with each nursing the drink of their choice. Uhura, despite being of far slighter build than Christine, definitely had an easier time enjoying her whiskey even after the Romulan ale while Christine had started alternating sips of Irish lager with ice water as her speech had started to slur.

' 'S weird, you know? I never though' 'bout gettin' together with an oss-o-fer until I met Leo,' Christine admitted as she slugged down water to try and clear her head which had begun to spin like a top.

'Leo?' Uhura didn't bother fighting the chuckle. 'That's a first, I've never heard him called Leo. Leonard, McCoy, Bones, but never Leo. Is that a thing you guys do?'

'We don't do anythin', 'cept work together. La'll though, 'e's all I c'n think 'bout at night mos' nights in bed. Or in the shower, or wher'ver normal peoples go to fuck.'

'Don't say it like that, Chris, you know that when you and Bones-'

'Not gonna hap'n.'

' _When_ you and Bones get together and get physical, I sincerely doubt either of you would think of it as just scratching some itch.'

'Mmm, he does have goo' hands.' Christine twirled her fingers like she was conducting an invisible orchestra. ' 'e gave me a back massage after I got back from Moravia. Wish he'd done the front too.'

'I bet he was thinking the same thing.'

'Nope, bet he wasn't.'

'Okay, Christine look at me.' Uhura grabbed her friend's lightly clenched fists and gave them a little tug to help her focus. Despite the clouds in the nurse's eyes, she still saw flickers of coherence. 'Stop saying he doesn't like you, because what I saw in the greenhouse was a man about to devour you on the spot. Had I not dropped that stupid wrench, you guys probably would have done it on the floor of the greenhouse then and there.'

'He's a healthy man with normal itches he needs scratching, Nina. I'm not gonna be that solution.'

'And you're a healthy woman with your own needs to care for, too.'

'Right now I just wanna go to bed, those are the needs I need to be cared for right now.' Christine drilled the table top with her finger, winced. 'Ow. Hurts.'

'Think it's time to get back to my place. You're in the toddler phase of being drunk,' Uhura laughed, then called out, 'Computer end program.'

The pub atmosphere, along with the table and their drinks, vanished into the ether and they were standing in the cavernous holodeck for only a moment as Uhura helped Christine to her feet when they found themselves once more back in the reality of the _Enterprise_. Given the late hour, it was no surprise the hallways were all but empty, save for the security patrol officer who was at the opposite end of the hallway on his route from them.

'Thank goodness ever'one's gone,' Christine hissed in a loud whisper, 'last thing I need is to see'm and considerin' my luck it-'

'Lieutenants!'

Uhura and Christine looked at each other and burst into giggles as they heard Bones sharp bark of their ranks down the hallway. Uhura glanced over her shoulder, saw Bones in the same clothes he'd worn to the greenhouse coming from the end of the hallway opposite to the patrol guard and beamed. 'Evening Doctor.'

'What in the hell have you two been doing?'

'Enjoy'n the Rom-oo-lin ale you gave missy here-' Christine drunkenly tilted her wobbly head in Uhura's direction '-for a Chris-miss gifty! It was tasty.'

'Lieutenant Uhura, you damn well know better than giving Christine that shit!' McCoy snapped, though the gruffness in his voice came more from worry over what had caused Christine to go heavy drinking in the first place. With nimble moves, he took the arm Christine had flung across Uhura's shoulders and slipped it around his own, then hooked his other arm under her knees. 'I'll get her into the medical bay to sober her up, make sure she hasn't poisoned herself.'

'Uh-huh.' Though she could feel the effects of the liquor wearing thin, Uhura still couldn't manage a more sophisticated response as she watched Bones carry Christine Rhett-and-Scarlett style towards the medical bay. She stood where she was for a while, letting herself take in the moment and spin some frothy fantasies over what such an encounter could become for her two friends so obviously interested in each other. Satisfied by the idea that they very realistically could end up having a wildly hot night together, Uhura stumbled into her own quarters, secured the door and promptly fell face first into her bed.


	4. Wasted

Once in the med-bay, Bones deposited Christine directly into a bed, then shucked off his vest and began to rustle up supplies to give her a subcutaneous continuous supply of fluids. He shook his head, his conscience greasily smeared with guilt. _My fault_ , was all he could think as he heard her mumble and moan lightly. _I stupidly tried to make a move on her in the greenhouse and she in response went drinking with Uhura to forget the whole thing_.

'Leo? Where you go?'

Bones stuck his head around the partitioning curtain, saw her smile blearily at him so he tugged it back to keep her in view. 'I'm right here, Christine, just being your last bartender for the night.'

'How come more people don't call you Leo?' Christine inquired as she studied Bones' back, thought of what might be underneath that form fitting shirt and felt her thighs go weak at such a notion.

'I don't think it suits me. Leo is a cool guy, or a mobster.'

'You're a cool guy,' Christine insisted, making Bones snort as he mixed the concoction.

'I'm a middle-aged father who had no option but to join Star Fleet after his divorce.'

'And I'm old enough to know that stealing shuttles is wrong, yet here we are,' she reminded him, gesturing grandly in a move that nearly sent her to the floor; he grabbed her arm in the nick of time as he stood in front of her with the hypospray at the ready.

'You were sick, just like you are now. Open up.'

'Open what up?'

Bones coughed; she had such a charming way about her, even piss-faced drunk, when she wasn't purposefully trying to be sexy. But he wasn't about to be the guy who didn't touch her while in this state and called himself a hero for it. In fact, he knew that touching her at any time, drunk or sober, was off limits. _Then what was that in the greenhouse_ , his conscience nagged him.

'Your mouth, I'm gonna give you an oral hypospray to help activate the other stuff I'm going to administer to you.'

Christine obliged him, then smacked her lips a little at the medicinally minty after-taste. 'Will you make up a chart? Because then you'd be my doctor and if we have a greenhouse moment the sequel, then that's going to be a problem.'

Bones' grip tightened on the empty hypospray vial, a hundred questions galloping through his brain, but she was already carrying on with her one-sided conversation.

'Yep, can't have a doctor kissing his patients, and I don't wanna be the reason you lose your license, so maybe no chart so I could kiss you or you could kiss me,' she stated in the choppy syllabic way of the completely trashed. 'I bet you are a great kisser, Leonard, and you've got such kind eyes. But you wanna know why I can say that?'

'Why's that?'

'Because I'm drunk and it doesn't count, and you're you and I'm me…and…oh…oh god…'

Christine started to cough, and Bones helped her sit up so she could wretch to sick up the worst of the liquor into the draining basin beside the bed. She felt his strong, reassuring hands on her back; they circled in wide sweeping strokes which she found incredibly soothing. When she was emptied, down to spluttering dry heaves, her vision started to blur with tears caused by the strain on her body; instinctually, Bones reached out his hand to brush them away with a butterfly light touch.

'It's okay, darlin', just get it out now, just get it all out,' he murmured, and to his great panic, Christine started to sob a little.

'Oh God, I'm an idiot, I've ruined everything again.'

'Nothing is ruined.'

'Yes, it is!' She ground the heels of her hands against her closed eyes as she tried to steady her breathing. 'I was finally getting some respectability back, and then I had to go and do this!'

'Just about everyone on this ship has stumbled out of the Archer and Sparrow three sheets to the wind, and I've been known to crawl too deep inside a bottle of Romulan ale myself when my ex is making life miserable.'

'Not that, it's _why_ we went drinking…if anyone found out, I'd be a laughing stock again.'

'I don't recall anyone making fun of you or belittling your return to the ship, Nurse Chapel,' Bones replied honestly, then thought _fuck it, she deserves honesty_ , 'least of all me. I think it's very brave what you're doing.'

'Brave?'

'Yeah, staying in the service after going through a frontier war like you did in the Outer Rim. You got sick from it, and you bounced back, some might say better than ever. One night of drinking won't tarnish your rep that badly.'

'But it's the _why_ of why we went drinking and nuh-uh I can't tell you it's too embarrassing.' Christine felt herself coming back to her senses a little more, had the wherewithal to keep that part to herself. Last thing she needed less than having a crush on her boss was to drunkenly admit it to him.

But Bones wasn't having any of her shit tonight, not when she could actually be offering him a sliver of hope. 'Why can't you tell me why?'

'Oh…oh my head…' Despite the outward appearance, it wasn't a fake-out; the hypospray had already begun to work its magic and was making her a little dizzy thanks to her freshly depleted system. She flopped over with the grace of a dead fish as she felt the room begin to spin around her. 'Leonard, don't leave me, okay?'

'Never,' he promised, rising to finish fixing up the SCS cocktail for her and attaching the needle to her wrist so gently she didn't even wince. 'Maybe in a little bit we might move into my quarters, so you'd feel more comfortable?'

'Nope.'

'No?'

Christine shook her head, her loose strands of burnished gold hair rustling against the stiff linens of the medical bed. 'I don't want my first time in your bed to be because you feel sorry for me.'

'Is that so?'

'I'm just saying the first, last or any time I'm in your bed, I don't want it to be from pity.'

'I understand. Try to get some rest.'

But there was no need to tell her, for Bones had no sooner hooked up the SCS line from the prescription container to the needle in her wrist than she was sound asleep. And good timing, he thought too, as he checked the starting levels of her medication, then toed off his boots to climb into the bed opposite her. He was after all a man of his word, and spent the next hour trying to sort out the truth from the drunken talk as he watched her sleep.

* * *

The first sensation Christine had when she awoke was the clarity of mind despite knowing she'd gone well over her limit drinking the night before. Squinting, she looked around and realized she wasn't in her own bed but in a patient berth in the medical bay; as she slowly tilted herself into an upright position, it occurred to her she was still full dressed shoes and all.

Confused, she swung her feet to the floor and tried to piece together how she'd gotten from the Archer and Sparrow to the medical bay, she went to get up only to feel a pinching tug on her wrist. Glancing down, she saw a SCS line attached to a bag holding the remnants of a banana-yellow solution - and like something out of a bad screen-show, a flood of swirling blurry memories came back to her. She'd been on her way to Uhura's quarters when Bones had seen them in the hallway…then there was the sensation of being lifted way up…then talking to him in medical bay, and nothing else because she was still full dressed the way she'd been in the holodeck with her friend…throwing up…then more talking.

But the talking, god what might have slipped out when she was that intoxicated? What had she let loose that would have embarrassed him both as her boss and the guy she had a crush on? She had only vague snippets stored of what she'd told him. Had she told him why Uhura had dragged her off to the Archer and Sparrow? Had she made a move on him? Was that why she was waking alone in medical instead of her own room, or even his?

'This is why you don't drink,' Christine muttered, unfazed to find her footwear still in its place; disconnecting the SCS line, she pressed her palm to her forehead and stood up with fewer side effects than she anticipated. Her hand landed on the bedside table to catch her balance, brushing over a memo-cube blinking with an unread message. Intrigued, Christine pressed the button and felt her whole spirit lift when she heard Bones' voice.

 _Morning there tipsy, it's about oh-six-hundred right now so when you wake up come find me in my quarters. You can use the private entrance from my office in med-bay. Code is 2-6-3-7._

Christine looked around, saw the secondary door panel in his office she'd always assumed was for his own private lavatory and keyed in the code. The door whispered open, whispered close behind her and Christine looked around as she saw she was in the parlour space; he'd made it his own with paintings of mountain sunsets and rivers winding through forests. She saw his boots by the door, the file bag on the sofa opposite the dining area, and beyond, the door open to his bedroom where a fleeting glance let Christine see the sheets still rumpled and twisted.

While she wondered if she should just sit down and wait politely or announce herself, Christine's feet suddenly rooted into place when the door to the washroom opened and Bones stepped out wearing just his uniform pants and drying his still-damp hair with the towel flung over his bare shoulders. _Dear Jesus save me_ , Christine prayed silently as he absently tapped at his PADD propped up on the kitchen table, a few stray beads of water glinting on his well-defined chest, then did a double take with a slow smile as he saw her standing in his small foyer.

'Well, well, look who's back in the land of the living.'

'I…just got here.' Christine gestured vaguely as she tried not to drool, for not even her prurient fantasies could have given her as much delight as seeing the good doctor's solid and toned physique in person. 'You wanted me to use the private entrance?'

'Thought that might make for fewer questions instead of you showing up early in the morning on my doorstep, or leaving it for that matter.'

'What time is it even?'

'About oh-nine…oh-nine-fifteen,' he confirmed after a quick glance of the clock, then pulled out a chair for her. 'I'll grab a shirt, and your stuff.'

'My stuff?'

'You had a bag with you when I took you to the medical bay last night so I put it in my room for safe keeping.' And, Bones thought as he found a clean white undershirt to tug on, though his ego got a pretty nice kick start from seeing the way she got all glassy eyed, if anyone had stopped in for a late night visit the night before they'd have suspected nothing. Out of sight, out of mind, at least on that front.

Returning, he saw her sitting at the table and absently tapped the wall buttons for the replicator - he'd already programmed the meal he'd planned for them both, it just needed to be prepared - and sat down in the chair beside her and poured them both some coffee while the silence was temporarily filled with the music station Bones had turned on that morning.

'How are you feeling?'

'Better than I thought I would,' Christine replied honestly as she lightly drummed her fingers in time with the song. Seemed he enjoyed millennial pop as she did, she thought as the sounds of Bruno Mars' _Lazy Song_ floated through the air. 'Thank you for that, and for…your discretion.'

'My discretion?'

'I think I said some things last night that might have been embarrassing for both of us,' Christine admitted, then felt her stomach unclench when Bones neither went still or even so much as shifted uneasily in his chair, but rather let an amused grin spread over his lips.

'I know it's bad to say as ship's surgeon, but you are quite the funny drunk.'

'Did I say you had kind eyes and I didn't wanna be in your bed out of sympathy or something?'

'Both of those, amongst other things. Amazingly though, you refused to tell me what had gotten you into such a state.'

Christine took an extra long sip of her coffee, composing her thoughts as she did, then thought _the hell with being cautious and patient_. 'Uhura thought I'd need some girl talk, about…about the moment in the greenhouse.'

'I see.' Bones felt his stomach suddenly suck itself into a black hole. Women, he thought sourly, hadn't changed a wink in nearly three and a half millennia. As he tried to put together something to say, Christine was already forging ahead.

'She felt awful about interrupting, so I think part of it was an apology, but mostly, I think she just understood I need some girl talk time to-'

'I'm glad she interrupted,' he blurted out, surprising them both; Christine's eyebrows nearly shot through the ceiling to the bridge.

'You are?'

'Yeah, because if she hadn't dropped that wrench, I think your girls' night talk would have gone very differently, beginning with the question how did those plants get squashed.'

'Why would…oh.' Christine blushed ruby red from the roots of her hair down to her neckline as she connected the dots and had no recourse but to laugh nervously. 'Yeah, I mean Uhura's my best friend but I'm not into letting people watch. Hell I can't even sing in front of other people.'

'What about eating?' Bones heard the timer sound off for the replicator. 'Because I slaved and slaved over the menu and settings panel to put this together for us. You, but…well I need to eat too,' he hastily added, feeling his own cheeks grow warm as he grabbed two plates from the replicator.

God he was so cute when he was rattled, Christine thought, because yep, the guy was nervous, he was babbling away, and wasn't that interesting? First a sex joke about _them_ no less, then a rambling runaway mouth. Then her thoughts turned to food as she saw him put a trio of fresh steaming blueberry pancakes in front of her, complete with real butter, bacon and maple syrup. She looked up at him, pretending to be suspicious; perhaps her assessment of him as not caring about the details had been misguided after all.

'You are a crafty one, Bones,' she all but purred at him, 'these are my favourites. How did you know?'

'I remembered from breakfast after Mardi Gras,' Bones chuckled, glowing warm as a primed warp core at the look she sent him before digging into her meal, 'that our favourite Vulcan informed you it was your turn to take care of Uhura and you insisted that these would fix her right up.'

'She was pretty tanked,' Christine admitted, 'and Spock doesn't have access to the fancy drugs you do, so we had to take care of her the old fashioned way.'

'Mostly it was just a mild sedative and some fluids since drinking that much makes your body feel like a Tevalian raisin.'

'Not the point.' She popped in another bite, moaned lightly. 'God, I haven't had these in ages!'

'I'm surprised you don't have a plant for them in the greenhouse,' Bones commented, making Christine shake her head.

'Too expensive all the way out here. Although once we arrive on the satellite, I'm planning to stop in at a gardening shop and seeing if they can give me some bush-sprouts to start my own.'

'Speaking of plans, got any tonight beyond- dammit.' Bones sighed as he heard the intrusive _chirp-chirp_ of his PADD and saw the alert come through from Kirk for an emergency department chiefs' meeting at ten-hundred, followed up with a private text also from Kirk suggesting a guys' night for that evening. It made him swear lightly, as there was no way to blow off his best friend without inviting nosy questions. 'Looks like we'll be cutting this shorter than I thought. Senior officers' meeting in forty-five minutes.'

'Okay.' With that Christine picked up her rate of ingestion. 'I'll be out of here in about fifteen so you can-'

'No, no, take your time, don't make yourself sick again. I gotta go get ready once I'm done eating, but if you're still in the shower when I'm gone, just use my private entrance to the med-bay since you've already got the code for it.'

'Shower?'

Bones laughed at her baffled expression. 'Aside from a carb-loaded breakfast, I find the other great thing for a hangover morning is to get a proper water shower, not one of those sonic suntans.'

Christine forked up another bite of her pancakes, chewed pensively. 'I'm not going to use up your water rations when I have my own in my quarters.'

'Nonsense, I insist.' Bones shot her one of his cocky grins. 'Call it doctor's orders, if you like.'


	5. Ain't No Rest For the Wicked

When they'd finished eating, Christine went into the bathroom with her tote; she'd only thought to stick in her toothbrush in her bag along with her fresh clothes since Uhura let her keep a girls-night sleepover kit in her medicine cabinet. Now she was faced with the unnerving prospect of smelling like Bones all day, of cedar and shea butter and something else indescribably masculine and sensual. That would certainly raise a few eyebrows.

'Got everything you need?' Bones, now fully dressed in his uniform, stepped in the open door, saw her looking around. 'Towels are under the sink if you don't wanna use the drying tube, and just use whatever of my, uh, stuff you need to.'

'Doctor?' Christine called out to him just as he'd turned away, and she suddenly felt a little foolish to be so bold as to ask her next question. 'You started to ask me something before you were interrupted, about what I'm doing tonight?'

'I was going to ask if your liver feels up to it, did you want to join me in taking a new holo-program for a test run. But seeing as I've just had plans made for me-'

'Tomorrow, then, I'm free.' Christine twisted her fingers together, unsure of what to do with her hands at the moment. 'Thanks again for everything, it was really kind of you to be so nice to your drunken second in command.'

'I'm sure there's some time-honoured female ritual about nursing a hangover with agonizing pride, but I know your head would probably explode if I hadn't stepped in.'

'Thanks again, anyways. Now shoo so I can get undressed.'

'Christine.' Brimming with a sudden surge of confidence in learning their greenhouse moment was cut short by bad luck and not lack of interest, he stepped closer to her, leaning in so his mouth was a hair's breath away from her ear and murmuring with a sultriness he didn't know he was capable of, 'Trust me, when I get to see you naked for the first time, me being the nice guy will be the last thing on your mind.'

Before Christine could do anything, he turned his head ever so slightly and planted a kiss on her cheek that lingered just long enough to stir him up for the day, but not so long that he'd miss his officers' meeting following up on it. He gave her a wink, then discreetly closed the door behind him as he went to dress.

By the time he was set to go, Bones had his hand on the hallway door's security pad when he paused and turned to look at the bathroom door. It wasn't the idea that Christine, with her statuesque hourglass figure was soaping up in his water-shower - though that was enough to make a man take matters into his own hands, so to say - but the noise emanating from behind the door.

 _Today I don't feel like doing anything…I just wanna stay in my bed…_

Bones chuckled as he left; women, he thought again as he headed for the turbo-lifts. Christine's voice sounded very sweet and lovely - what in the hell did she have to be embarrassed about singing for? As the tube raced upwards, he thought about the plans he made with her for the holodeck on the following evening, perhaps he could-

'Good morning Doctor.'

 _Fuck_ , was the only word Bones could come up with as Spock stepped onto the lift with him; he'd hoped to have a few more minutes fantasizing about getting even closer to Christine but it was not to be.

'Morning, pointy,' Bones griped as Spock stood sedately beside him, the only motion being made being the tapping on his PADD. No doubt getting ready for the morning's meeting.

'I trust you are in better spirits this morning?'

Bones thought of blueberry pancakes, Bruno Mars music and wet showers, but most of all how the last thing he wanted to do was share that with anyone just yet, particularly Spock. 'I was until you asked. Why do you care?'

'I was simply using one of your colloquialisms to ascertain whether your emotional imbalance had been diffused. As the ship's chief medical officer, it is logical that you be in good health to assist others with more severe issues.'

'That's more like it. You being friendly creeps me out.'

'I am half human, Doctor,' Spock reminded him, discreetly pressing the 'Begin Scan' button on his PADD and waiting while the application worked. 'And Vulcans are not without emotion, rather we believe that to let emotion rule is to invite anarchy both internally and within society. But a life lived dispassionately is in the Vulcan view-'

'Spare me your ten-cent philosophy, I wanna stay in that good mood and you're not helping.'

'Very well, Doctor.'

The silence last only a few seconds, as Spock's PADD intoned _Scan complete. Review results?_ 'Negative,' Spock replied, caught off guard - he was certain he had set the application to display-only mode, 'save results for later viewing.'

 _Acknowledged._

'What's going on there,' Bones inquired, jutting his chin towards the PADD cradled in the crook of Spock's arm.

'Research for the captain,' Spock replied simply, and Bones with his mind still on his morning with Christine let it go.

They didn't speak another word until the lift stopped at the appropriate level, and they'd reached the conference room where they found Sulu, Uhura and Kirk already waiting for them. Bones let his gaze land briefly on Uhura, whose eyes widened gleefully for a nanosecond, then let her face split into a grin when Spock sat to her left with his deep-thought expression firmly fixed on.

'How's your morning been, Doctor?' she asked politely, though the gleam in her eye told Bones much more about hers. Before Bones could reply, the captain called the group to attention.

'Thanks everyone for making time for this meeting, I promise I won't keep you long,' Kirk informed them. 'We have been requested for an away mission on our way to restock in the Tantalus system. It appears that there is a Federation diplomatic school hosting a 'meet the officers' day to coincide with parental visitation night, and we have been requested to make an appearance.'

'Rather short notice, isn't it?' Sulu replied, thinking of his daughter and the reams of paperwork his husband copied him on for dates that were months away. 'Don't those things usually get planned way in advance?'

'The _Bradbury_ was the originally selected ship but they've been delayed due to their peace moderation on Ceti Alpha Three going longer than expected,' Kirk explained, sending a muttering ripple of empathy going through the group, 'and as we are the closest to the Tantalus system, we've been requested to fill in.'

'What are the ages of the students?' Spock inquired, resetting his scanning app to run in the background while he made notes on his PADD. 'Define and specify the rituals, customs and expectations of the mission.'

'The kids are about ages ten to seventeen. The headmaster forwarded a schedule to me which I am now sending your PADDS-' the devices all dinged with the incoming documents '-but the basic overview is that in the morning we'll be giving some speeches and explaining what it is we do on the ship, then in the afternoon we will be giving tours to small groups for the students to see our jobs in action, followed by a reception in our mess hall consisting of a cocktail hour to serve as an informal meet-and-greet with the visiting parents.'

Normally an away mission would have brought Bones a great deal of satisfaction, but this time around he felt only the downside. As if by magic, he saw the flashing red dot of a new personal text message and saw it was from Christine; she'd sent him a picture of a lemon meringue pie along with a little note - _Kinney just sent out today's menu and guess what's for dessert in the mess hall tonight?_ It made him want to grin foolishly but given where he was sitting, it would be unwise at best and mortifying at worst to be caught daydreaming like a lovesick schoolboy.

'Bones?'

He jolted at the sound of Kirk's voice, saw the captain eye him suspiciously. 'Sorry, Cap, what were you saying?'

'I asked if there were any active bio-samples in med-bay right now that would make a field trip for the students hazardous.'

'Everything we are working with is in the cryostorage phase so there's no risk unless we get some patients between today and tomorrow.'

Kirk gave him a considering look, then nodded. 'Very well. Mister Spock, would you be able to draw up a schedule for the departments to distribute?'

'Affirmative, Captain. It shall be ready by thirteen hundred thirty so that both current and secondary crew shift members will be apprised.'

'Thank you Mister Spock. Mister Sulu, can I leave it to your good offices to inform Engineering?'

'Aye, sir,' Sulu replied, then rose. 'If that is all, sir, I must return to the bridge to ensure Chekov's back-up hasn't locked me out of my operating system once again.'

'Where is he, anyways?'

'Sir, Mister Chekov was assisting Montgomery Scott with an evening enrichment course for the engineering ensigns, followed by taking part in a social activity with the students in the mess hall until fifteen minutes past oh-three-hundred,' Spock replied. 'To borrow one of your phrases, Lieutenant Uhura, I believe they are both sleeping it off.'

'Don't think he's the only one doing that this morning,' she mumbled to herself, and Bones wanted to kick her under the table as though they were the students once more.

'Also, because of this little detour, our leave once we reach our restock destination has been extended, so your return time will be on the morning of day four instead of the evening of day three.'

This sent a cheer from the table, including Bones whose immediate thoughts went yet again to Christine and the greenhouse. She loved her plants, and when she was showing him the various fruits and vegetables, he didn't recall seeing any blueberries. She'd said herself she wanted to try and find a garden shop that had a seedling, but maybe with the extra day of shore leave, it might give him time to negotiate with a buyer to give her such a thing as a token of affection. No cheesy boxes of chocolates, or in his father's case a new Stetson hat for his mother, but a flowering plant that would be of practical use in the greenhouse would-

'Bones?'

'What!'

Kirk's bushy eyebrows lifted in surprise at the doctor's annoyed response, then saw his embarrassment at twice being singled out in a meeting for being in la-la-land was punishment enough. 'Something on your mind, Doctor?'

'Just…thinking.'

'We are all entitled to our moments of deep reflection, however they are best observed when in private,' Spock informed him primly, flicking his eyebrow in the captain's direction. 'Are there any other pressing matters to speak of, Captain?'

'Not at this time, Mister Spock. Dismissed,' he added, then frowned when Bones rose with the group but rather than leave as they did, he lingered. 'Problem, McCoy?'

'Just curious, Jim, that reception tomorrow night…how long you think it'll take?'

'Well, you've been to school functions before with Joanna, right? They're usually done around twenty, twenty-one hundred hours. Why, what's going on? You afraid we'll get stranded or something?'

'Nothing, I just…I have some plans for tomorrow evening I'd like to be able to keep.'

'You and I know both know how much of a pain in the ass Star Fleet mandates can be, so we'll keep it as brief as regulations say if things aren't going too well.'

Bones scoffed, relief seeping in it would not interfere too horribly with the holodeck plans he had with Christine. 'If you think Star Fleet is bad, you've clearly never had parent-teacher night before, Jim.'

'Either way, I don't think Joanna will be too upset since when we get in, it'll only be around eight pm in San Francisco so you'll have plenty of time to tuck her in with a bed-time story.'

'She's twelve, Jim and those aren't the plans I had in mind,' Bones said gruffly, knowing Jim was unaware of the nerve he'd touched in bringing Joanna up. He glanced down when he saw the incoming message, once more from Christine and this time allowed himself a small smile - _just got the message, we're having kids tomorrow so meet me down in med-bay, I have a few ideas for giving them a good show_.

 _Be right there,_ he replied, then tossed a quick 'thanks' towards Kirk as he sauntered out of the room as he began to hum _The Lazy Song_ on his way out the door. Spock, who had hung back as well, beetled his eyebrows together once more in confusion.

'That noise that the doctor was making as he left, that is what humans refer to as humming correct?'

'You got it, Mister Spock. It's something we humans do when we're in a good mood.'

'Then it stands to reason that the data I collected this morning-'

At this, Kirk turned to Spock with a 'what the hell' look on his face. 'Data?'

'The research we each agreed to conduct concerning our investigation into Doctor McCoy's unusual behaviour. I was able to discreetly scan him in the turbo-lift this morning and-'

'You _scanned_ him? And you lied about it?'

'Not lying, Captain, I was truthful but did not provide any extraneous detail.'

'Huh.' Kirk gave a nod, slapped Spock on the shoulder as he programmed the meeting room replicator for a glass of orange juice; if he was going to be facing school kids, he wanted to be damn sure his immune system was powered up. He wasn't about to spend precious shore leave time in bed with a cold and not a hot woman as he anticipated. 'Well, what did you find out?'


	6. Weapon of Choice

Spock pulled up his scan results and listed the details. 'His heart rate and blood pressure were slightly more elevated than normal but not in a dangerous range, his temperature was raised zero-point-six degrees.'

'Doesn't sound like anything to write home about.'

'I detected his glucose levels were elevated, but given the hour it is possible Doctor McCoy was still digesting his morning meal. It is logical, then, the final detail is most indicative of his condition. There was a significant elevation in the level of androstenone, which according to this database is a pheromone released by human males indicating a desire to mate.'

'Mate? As in…mate?' Kirk repeated incredulously, causing Spock to give him a rather pained look.

'I believe you are familiar with how such relations between males and females work, Captain?'

'Smartass,' Kirk muttered, then sat back down in his chair to mull it over, and as he did, he felt like a total moron for not seeing it. The distracted temperament, the mood swings, the sudden interest in keeping his duty hours short to keep specific plans. 'How about that, Bones has a crush on a mystery woman.'

'I have procured several other options from the scanner's database that should not be discounted.'

'Spock, think about how you were behaving when you first felt something other than friendship for your girlfriend.' Kirk fetched his juice from the replicator, took a sip. 'Just like home.'

'When Nyota and I began to engage socially, I found myself experiencing exasperation that I could not label what I felt for her, as well as when our social engagements were terminated due to the demands of being members of Star Fleet. This emotion was coupled with fear that my affection for her would be discovered and there would be consequences upon the discovery of an inappropriate relationship between us.' Spock frowned in his deep-thought way, then nodded slowly. 'Certainly, now I can see the parallel case you make for the doctor's behaviour.'

'So we're agreed that he's hot for someone, the question is who?'

'I do recall him behaving in the typical behaviour of an alpha-male figure in the presence of Doctor Marcus but she has been transferred off the ship for quite some time. Have they kept a routine of correspondence?'

'Highly unlikely,' Kirk said, 'seeing as she just got married a few weeks ago and is back in London.'

'Fascinating you should know such details.'

'I was invited,' Kirk replied smoothly, 'but we were out at the Barilko satellite.'

'Understood. Logically, it seems that the unknown woman is someone on board the ship, however there are very few candidates that would be logical choices for Leonard.'

'Don't call him Leonard, it's freaking me out.' Kirk took another swallow of orange juice, shook his head. 'Don't you have that in your little database there?'

'The personnel files indicate there are approximately seven viable candidates who would fall within the appropriate parameters-'

'I'm just kidding, Spock. If you had selected your lover based on appropriate parameters would you have chosen Lieutenant Uhura?'

'I did not actively choose her, I was…drawn to her. Ah.' Spock nodded in the way that told Kirk he was finally computing on a human wavelength. 'You believe that his attraction cannot be mathematically analyzed.'

'The better thought is, why the hell would you want to analyze it like a problem when finding out for yourself is so much fun?'

'If this is now to be the new paradigm for this project, Captain, what course of progression do we follow?'

'Now that we know what is going on, the next step is to figure out who is making him feel the way he does.'

'In Vulcan culture, the most logical way to resolve such an issue is by being forthright with the person in question.'

'In Earth culture, especially where Bones comes from, telling your friend you're experimenting on him to figure out he's interested in a woman is an excellent way to get your face broken.' Kirk drained his juice glass, stood up. 'You have any other ideas how we can do that without making him feel like a damn fool?'

'There is a control experiment we could perform that I have observed used by other humans, particularly in the hormonally-charged environment of the Academy.'

Kirk chuckled. 'I'm listening.'

The plan was not put into place until nearly eighteen-hundred-third hours, when Spock insisted they join the other crew members in the dining hall for the evening meal. It was sandwich night, with the cooks whipping up New York style panini complete with freshly made kettle chips, coleslaw, a Rigel Seven bean salad, even a Vulcan fire-roasted sweet potato soup. Upon making their selections - Kirk the turkey club and Spock the eggplant parmigiana, each going for the soup on Spock's recommendation - they took their seats near the end of the line for the best vantage point to watch all the comings and goings.

'So this is your big experiment, Spock?' Kirk sat down, dipped his spoon into the soup bowl. 'We watch Bones to see who is making him have a reaction?'

'Indeed.' Spock set out his PADD, tuned it so the scanning app ran in the background while he and the captain ostensibly discussed other business. 'To ask him such a personal query in so public a surrounding would cause him great discomfort. Particularly when one considers the fact he is, to use Nyota's phrase again, one who does not wear his heart on his sleeve.'

'No shit,' Kirk agreed, then heaved an indulgent sigh. 'This soup is outrageous.'

'Ensign Kinney has done a respectable job with the recipe,' Spock agreed, then focused his attention on the entrance to the mess hall where he saw Bones walk in, pick up a tray to make his selection. He frowned as he saw the doctor look at his PADD, give a small smirk, then collect his meal. 'Captain, there maybe be a fatal flaw in our plan's implementation.'

'Can't hear you, I'm having a moment with the soup.'

'Sir, what if the woman does not come to the mess hall this evening? We cannot very well set-up a security detail on the doctor for no explicable reason, and we do not have enough evidence to make a logical conclusion to present to him during our male-bonding session scheduled for this evening.'

Kirk scraped his spoon around the rim of his now-empty bowl, wiped his mouth on a napkin. 'I don't think I've ever seen you this focused on something that has no bearing whatsoever on the forward progress of our mission.'

'On the contrary,' Spock replied with a snooty little sniff. 'Ship surgeon Leonard McCoy is displaying irrational behaviour, therein endangering the lives of everyone on this ship by being potentially unfit for duty. Therefore, discovering the root cause and implementing a solution to resolve his issues are logical steps to take.'

'So then you plan to add all of this to the log and report on Bones' wanting to get laid with someone he likes to Admiral Barrett?' When Spock shook his head, Kirk dropped his spoon with a loud clang. 'You're seriously gonna leave it out?'

'There is no need to make an official report if it is a private matter, until that time when his personal life actively affects our health and safety.'

'So let's say him and the mystery woman do get together for awhile but things don't work out and they call it quits. Will that endanger us too?'

'I believe my previous answer also applies to such a query, Captain.'

'Gentlemen!' Bones came over, tray in hand and a wide smile on his face. 'Are we still on tonight?'

'You betcha, we'll meet you around twenty-thirty in the Archer and Sparrow for a few drinks and some darts.'

'Sounds like a plan.' Bones gave Spock a wary look. 'Though I don't know if I trust you with something that could puncture my hide.'

'The Earth game of darts is very similar to a Vulcan pursuit known as _wurpfeil_ and is popular at social gatherings. I'm sure the skills are transferrable. At this time, however I prefer to enjoy my evening meal while it is still at a pleasing temperature.'

Bones nodded, headed off to his own table with three other medical ensigns, leaving the two men to eat in silence, all the while keeping a cautious eye on Bones. To Spock's mind, he appeared to alternate between talking with his companions and reading on his PADD while eating; when he'd finished, though, both Kirk and Spock noticed he didn't leave the mess hall, nor did he return to continue the conversation with his fellow diners. Instead he returned to the meal line and promptly took possession of two small containers before exiting the mess hall once more.

'Captain…' Spock let the moment swirl in his brain, fill in the cracks of the theories they'd come up with throughout the day. 'Captain, what if the mystery woman, as you name her, is Nurse Chapel?'

'Nur…Christine?' Now Kirk laughed. 'You think the woman he's getting all tingly for is Christine?'

'As much as you say it is a matter of biological magnetism that draws human partners towards each other, such a mating is highly logical.'

'Oh yeah?'

'The doctor and Christine spend a great deal of time together, as do Mister Scott and his staff, and as such the pleasant bonds formed in a work environment such as theirs could logically provide a sound foundation for extrapolating their friendship into something more intimate.'

Kirk leaned an elbow over the back of his chair, interlaced his fingers. 'What makes you such an expert?'

'It is how Lieutenant Uhura and I began our relationship that has now reached a length of six years, three weeks and four days. We appreciated each other's strengths, talents and aptitudes as individuals before I invited her to join me socially at the symphony.'

'That does make a good point,' Kirk conceded.

'As well, having sought counsel from my father who also married an Earth-woman, he assured me that he too rooted the stability of his relationship with my mother by sharing common interests. I believe such is a possibility for Doctor McCoy and Nurse Chapel.'

Kirk let the idea swirl around his brain; it was indeed a good one, and he applauded Spock for his surprisingly insightful comments on the nature of a human-human relationship. But this was Bones they were talking about, not to mention Christine. Both of them had been through some very rough bumps in their personal lives - Bones with his divorce, Christine with her medical probation - and deserved to find someone to have some good times with. On the other hand, there was the fact that Bones was the chief medical officer of the ship and Christine was his second in command; would they be willing to risk their careers for a few romps in the sack just to satisfy some urges? Kirk couldn't remember the last time he'd ever heard either Bones or Christine mention someone from a fun-yet-short-lived shore leave fling, if ever it had happened.

Shaking his head, Kirk ticked his cheek. 'Sorry, Mister Spock, I just can't see it happening.'

'Then I believe we have reached the point where we should make a book on the matter.'

'We should what?'

Spock racked his brain, certain he was using the correct phrase. 'I have heard this phrase used between Mister Scott, Bones and yourself when you are utterly confident in something that you would be willing to place a quantity of currency on the outcome of an event.'

'Oh, you mean _make book_?' Kirk sat up from his relaxed posed like he'd been zapped with a cattle prod. 'Wait, you're saying that you wanna bet on whether or not the woman Bones wants to see naked is Christine?'

'Isn't that part of the male social construct, to place wagers on the outcomes of events such as friendly contests, professional sporting events and finding ways to make dull events more lively?'

Kirk couldn't believe his ears. 'This day is just full of surprises. Alright, what is the price of Bones' privacy, then?'

'We usually play a game of billiards for twenty credits, but as this has considerably higher and less predictable outcomes than simple geometry patterns, I should think fifty is acceptable.'

'Fifty it is.'

They shook hands to seal the deal, with each wondering how much skin they'd lose off their asses if Bones found out.

* * *

Down in the medical bay, Bones pulled up short just inside the door when he saw Christine sitting at one of the administrative communication consoles furiously typing away, an old-fashioned skill in his mind but clearly her words-per-minute speed meant she was in a mood not to be disturbed. For a moment, he just let himself watch her work, amazed at the agility of her fingers; Bones closed his eyes so as to better imagine the feel of those steady feminine hands on his body, rubbing his shoulders after a tough day of tending to the crew and unwinding after the perils of transporter travel nearly sent him into cardiac arrest. He'd stretch out on his bed, naked but for the sheets bunched at his waist while Christine was dressed in some sheer tunic that left none of her curves to his imagination and working one of her herbal remedies into his aching muscles. Then her hands would slip down from his shoulders to his back, down beneath the sheet, reaching beneath his hips to find his-

'I smell food.'

Bones jumped like she'd fired his daddy's antique hunting rifle through the tranquil med bay and for a moment hid behind the waist-high desk to ensure none of his anatomy was out of place. Satisfied he'd not gone too far down his salacious rabbit hole, Bones grinned broadly when Christine turned around and gave him one of those smiles that melted everything inside him into a puddle of happiness.

'You smell panini. Turkey club, no tomatoes, and some fresh coleslaw with Arcadian cabbage.'

'Oh yummy.' She held out her hands, flexed her fingers. 'I haven't eaten since our pancakes this morning so gimme.'

'Why not?'

'I wanted to get as much paperwork done as possible before we lose an entire day to our visitors.'

'You should have told me, I'd have come down and kept you company while you ate.'

'You're not staying?' Christine felt her relief at being off-shift sideswiped by the memory of their making plans for the next evening. She rose, cracking her neck as she did so, crossed to get the food from him. 'Right, you mentioned something about a guy's night tonight.'

'If you're really swamped I can tell them I can't make it, give you a hand here.' Bones blinked a little when he saw her blush once more, the red tidal wave creeping up her neck and along the edge of her jaw. 'Everyone falls behind on paperwork now and then, Christine, it's perfectly normal given the kind of stuff we do.'

'No, it's not that, it's…' Christine didn't have the spine to tell him that after leaving his quarters that morning, she'd returned to her own and fallen into a sleep and dreamed of his making love to her in an orchard of Pride and Joy lemon trees so vividly she'd awoke both sated and disappointed. 'Nothing, I'm alright, really. Besides, the guys would blame me for you missing out and God only knows what Chekov and Kirk and Scotty would think if they knew you were blowing them off for me.'

'No, I'm fairly certain I know too what they'd say,' Bones chuckled, then held out the commissary's take away container. 'Come and get it.'

Christine crossed to him, then found herself tugging on the box still clutched firmly in his grip, that implacable teasing grin still on his mouth. 'Give it!'

'What's the magic word, Nurse Chapel?'

'Give it to me, now!'

'Dirty,' he replied, watching the way her ample breasts bounced lightly beneath her uniform dress as she continued to try and wrest the box from him. It contrasted perfectly with her blue eyes going dark as midnight from her anger over the childish delay in eating.

'Give me my dinner or tomorrow night I won't put out after we go to the holodeck.'

Bones' hands slid limply from the box, giving Christine her moment of triumph; she spun away for only a moment, then took a moment to think about what she'd said to him. She was getting so many conflicting signals from him, that he liked her but he didn't want to like her, that it was okay to flirt with her as long as she didn't do it back, but when she did he had that same sweetly nervous reaction that seemed to amp up his own confidence. In a way, it made her almost glad he had plans to go hang out with the guys that night.

Then his response nearly made her pass out.

'Why Nurse Chapel. I'm a gentleman, and besides…' Bones tugged on the hem of his tunic with mockingly exaggerated dignity before leaning in just as he'd done that morning and whispering in her other ear, 'What makes you think we'd wait until the end of the night?'

Seeing a nice symmetry in it, and knowing it'd make the hours in between all the more tantalizing for them both, Bones kissed her cheek once more. 'There,' he told her, heading for his quarters, 'matching set.'

'Uh-huh,' was all Christine could manage and lifted her fingertips to the place on her face where she felt the warm impression of his lips. She stood there, swaying a little before taking the container and sitting at her desk, trying to think just how inappropriate it would be to go into the lavatory and relieve herself of this awful throbbing ache he'd stirred in her.


	7. Right Place Wrong Time

By the time he was ready to meet his friends at the Archer and Sparrow, Bones felt both better and worse. The interlude with Christine and the War of the Panini had been both very fun and very infuriating; it was getting more and more challenging to resist the urge he had to just pounce on her and eat her up in great big bites. Particularly in the last few days, he'd taken to doing away with self-shaming entirely when he'd dealt with his wake-up wood and fantasized about her the entire time. But she was a classy woman, a brave survivor, and a respected medical officer of Star Fleet just as he was and Bones knew if he wanted even half a chance of anything with her, the flirtations that seemed now to be an almost hourly occurrence between them would have to sustain him for a while yet. Deep down, he knew why he was delaying it: Bones was still terrified that his hopes she'd feel as strongly for him were just that - hopes and nothing more. He'd never handled disappointment well, which was probably why he'd married Melanie so impetuously after discovering she was pregnant with Joanna to avoid his parents' wrath. It was also why he'd gotten his hide tanned in the divorce when they were constantly fighting and Bones had given over pretty much everything to just keep her happy and out of his life.

And yet for every reason he saw to keep to his 'never gonna happen' guns, the last few days had given him reasons threefold to just forget that plan altogether, starting in the greenhouse. What had fucking possessed him to nearly kiss her then and there? He'd known Uhura was there, he'd known there was a high probability they'd be busted like two teenagers rolling in the hayloft, and yet he hadn't been able to resist Christine; his comment about the squashed plants over breakfast had been completely honest. Part of him wondered if there was an effect of the lemons she'd hybridized but that theory was no good either, as she'd used his soap that morning and he still wanted her just as badly.

It was, he'd come to conclude, because she was Christine.

'You know this thing isn't equipped for telepathic commands, you have to say the words, Bones.'

He glanced over, saw Kirk and Spock approaching the entrance to the holodeck, both in off-duty casual attire. 'Just waiting till you got here.'

'If you would permit me, Doctor.' Spock reached past Bones to set the program for the Archer and Sparrow, the timer and the privacy settings on the highest option. 'There, Captain I believe we are ready for our interruption free evening.'

'Outstanding. Let's go get a drink.'

They walked through the holodeck door and into the recreated pub of one of the most popular officer hangouts in San Francisco. The floor, the tables, even the walls all had the same liquor and smoke wood-soaked appearance as the original. Anyone on the ship knew coming in here meant a generously portioned drink at a decent price in a safe fun atmosphere; tonight Spock had set the background activity to minimal as to give them the secure feeling of privacy.

'Go save us a table by the dart board.' Kirk pointed towards the stained glass windows letting in generated streetlight. 'I'll get us some drinks. Spock?'

'If we are indulging in Earth beverages, I will have the Jack Daniels with ice.'

'Make it two,' Bones added, then scrubbed damp palms over his thighs. He suddenly had a feeling of ambush creeping over his neck. But his friends wouldn't do that to him…would they?

When Kirk came back with four glasses of bourbon, nudged two in his direction Bones knew the answer - yes, yes they would gang up on him without a second thought.

'A little toast.' Kirk raised his glass. 'To the little moments that make life worth living.'

'Hear, hear,' Bones concurred, tilted his glass up and drained half in a single gulp. 'Oh, that's nice.'

'Well don't get too loose too soon, because there is a dartboard over there with my name on it and I'm feeling lucky tonight,' Kirk said as he got up to collect the tiny missiles, passing the red set to Spock and the green to Bones while keep the yellow for himself.

'Captain, luck has nothing to do with a game like this, it is a matter of skills humans refer to as hand-eye coordination,' Spock said, noting Bones taking another strong pull from his drink. 'Although sobriety when throwing sharply pointed objects through space could be considered essential.'

'True enough,' Kirk agreed. 'Bones you wanna go first?'

Bones felt the liquor begin to help ease the tension in his neck and his belly. 'Alright. Wait, what are we playing, crickets?'

'Sounds good to me.'

As Bones took his place, Kirk sent Spock a look that clearly said _the sooner we do this, the better._ Moving out of the doctor's way, he stood behind while Spock stood to the side to keep score; Kirk rubbed his palms together, stared at them as he started to speak and Bones' lined up his first shot.

'So, ah, listen Bones, Spock and I asked you to join us tonight to make sure everything's okay.'

'I'm fine, why do you ask?'

'Well, you don't seem like yourself and we were hoping that maybe a little liquor and a friendly game might get you to tell us why.'

Bones landed his shot neatly in the second ring with a small _fwick,_ rolling his neck as he prepared for the last one. It was tempting, oh so very tempting to spill his guts, but he was going to need a lot more liquor before he breathed a word about Christine to either of them. 'Really guys, everything's good.'

'Alright then.' His concern it was too early in the evening to bring this topic up and get some real answer had been well-founded it seemed, Kirk thought, and decided to switch topics. 'So, we've got that reception at the school tomorrow but I don't think it should run too late and interfere with your plans.'

'Excellent news,' Bones replied, setting himself to throw his fourth and final dart of his turn, and it was indeed - he wouldn't be forcing himself to make small talk while ogling Christine across the room half the night and counting down the seconds until they'd be alone together.

'Thought you might say that.' Kirk tried to catch Spock's eye as he opened his mouth and shook his head but it was too late.

'Captain, forgive me, but I am rather confused. I thought we invited Doctor McCoy to join us this evening to either confirm or disprove the reason for his strange behaviour was his sexual attraction to an as-yet unidentified woman on the ship.'

'You _what?'_ Bones whipped around, dart still poised and aimed, causing Kirk to instinctively hurl himself out of the danger zone and into the floor.

'Jesus fuck!' he yelped from his prone position; when he was certain the immediate danger had passed, Kirk hauled himself up to see Bones' hand, still clutching his final dart, hanging at his side as all the blood in his body seemed to have rushed into his face in a burning embarrassed flood. He glared at his first officer, who wore an almost childishly innocent expression of bafflement.

'Spock,' he all but snarled, 'we talked about this, that in North American human culture, we don't just say stuff like that because it makes both men and women uncomfortable.'

'I thought we concluded based on the data scans and the-'

'You _scanned me?_ ' Bones took a menacing step towards Spock, held up the business end of the dart. 'You wanna know what else is gonna be uncomfortable? When I jam this so far up your green-blooded ass you choke on it!'

'Doctor McCoy, in truth the scan was done discreetly by myself so as to establish whether your emotional imbalances of the last two days have been the result of a physiological ailment.'

'Don't play dumb with me, you conceited overgrown house-elf!' Bones looked over his shoulder, then took a breath when he saw Kirk's pained expression. 'You knew about this?'

'Yeah, and as damning as the evidence is, we really are just trying to help you, buddy.'

'Help with what?'

'Spock's scans said that you've got some elevated androsterone levels or something, it's the pheromone released in the male human when they're…attracted to someone,' Kirk finished lamely. 'We thought if you told us who the someone is, we might be able to help you either get over it or do something about it.'

Bones would rather have teleported naked into Times Square than be faced with his two closest friends, hell two men he thought of as brothers, trying to be supportive after they realized he was going through absolute torture trying to figure out how to handle his ever-growing attraction to Christine. Sighing, he polished off his first drink, reached for the second while Spock took his turn in the game with four shots in rapid succession.

'Fine,' he relented, 'fine, yes there is someone I'm…I'm interested in but even if something were to happen, I am too old, too divorced, too broke and too much of a dad figure to be worth her time for long.'

'Bones you're forty-five, but you act like you're thirty so I'd say that first one isn't a strong argument,' Kirk informed him as he set for his first shot; then nearly bobbled it when Spock continued to shoot his big unfiltered Vulcan mouth off.

'In Vulcan culture, an age disparity of fifteen to twenty years is considered reasonable. Surely the twelve year difference between yourself and Nurse Chapel will not impede your expression of affection towards her.'

This time Bones choked on the bourbon mid-sip, gulped it down like a fireball into his stomach and began to cough and splutter. 'Seriously, what the hell, have you been spying on me or something? Dammit Jim, I'm a doctor, not a monkey in a zoo!'

'Son of a bitch, he's _right?_ ' Kirk was agog that for someone so seemingly cut off from human feeling, Spock had an almost preternatural ability to suss out the most nebulous of human emotions. He flung his last two darts, not caring where they landed on the board; bigger things now had Kirk's attention. He turned to see the humiliated expression on Bones' face at having been found out and laughed richly. 'Seriously? You have a thing for Christine?'

'Doctor if you are in possession of something for Christine such as a token of affection as the captain suggests, you should give it to her as soon as possible,' Spock informed him politely, in what he hoped was the correct display of male emotional support of a friend.

'Yeah Bones,' Kirk chuckled; for all his fumbling, Spock had set him up pitch-perfectly for this one. 'Are you going to _give it_ to Christine as soon as possible?'

'You do know he's making fun of us both saying that, right?' Bones asked Spock, gesturing towards Kirk with his now empty glass; signalling the holographic bartender, a fresh round appeared in seconds.

'I'm afraid I do not understand.'

'Asking if I'm going to give it to Christine is his dumbass way of asking how long will I wait until I have sex with her since I'm obviously so hot for her,' Bones replied bitterly, fuming at the feeling he wasn't keeping anything to himself at all when it came to the woman of his dreams. 'Madness, utter madness on this ship.'

'You know what else is on this ship? Christine,' Kirk grinned, 'along with a holodeck to take her on a date literally anywhere in the galaxy plus two helpful friends to get a date-night plan going.'

'He- you ambush me with darts and booze, then say point blank to my face you think I'm pining over a colleague and wanna help me seduce her? Good god, have you both gone crazy?'

'Yes, yep, you bet your ass, and nope, the only crazy around here is you if you think that not pursuing something with Christine is a good plan,' Kirk replied, then wanted to slap Spock just to shut him up as he interjected even more embarrassing details into the conversation.

'Jim and I discussed it at length this evening that despite your emotional insecurities Christine Chapel is a wise choice in a mate.'

'You discussed that it's a wise choice,' Bones summed up in a pissy tone. 'Enlighten me, Spock.'

He detailed his points he'd already shared with Kirk, and by the end of it, Bones had to grudgingly admit the man had a point.

'So you don't think if we were seen together on the ship, or if word got out we were dating, that anyone would think it strange?'

'Well, I can assure you Nyota would be thrilled as she has often informed me that having another pair-bond to perform group activities with would make our social engagements even more enjoyable.'

'Thrilled?'

'Her words, Doctor. I believe she referred to the group activities as doubled dates.'

'Seriously, Bones, you're a healthy single handsome man, a Star Fleet officer and a doctor,' Kirk reminded him, 'and Christine is a beautiful single woman, a decorated Star Fleet officer in her own right. I mean, yeah, Christine is your subordinate but plenty of couples make it work so far as to be from different species.'

'Such as myself and Nyota,' Spock reminded him as Bones knocked back more liquor. 'Doctor I should remind you we are going to a school presentation tomorrow.'

'Oh yeah,' Bones frowned, set down the glass. 'Well, even though I have your Vulcan approval, there's still the fact I'm divorced from the most terrifying fucking woman in the galaxy who uses my child like an emotional pawn to get me to march to-'

'The operative word there is ex-wife, and it's not like Joanna's beaming out here and you're ditching her for a quickie with your girlfriend.' Kirk thought of his own rocky relationship with his step-dad that had only begun to repair itself due to his absence from the planet. 'Nor are you trying to replace Mel with a new mommy for Jo, either. So being divorced and a dad isn't helping your 'why I shouldn't' case either.'

'Part of being a divorced dad means paying through the nose for my child's comfortable upbringing which means I have no money for myself half the time.'

'Uh Bones? Look around you.' Kirk stretched his arms wide. 'We're on a holodeck, you literally can go anywhere, do anything fun. Ride roller-coasters, go scuba diving, enjoy a sunset in Paris-'

'Take her to my family horse farm and go trail riding.'

Kirk wanted to snicker at the riding comment, but the context in which Bones mentioned it said oodles more than any gooey sonnet or double entendre could have about his feelings towards Christine. 'Is that the plan for tomorrow night once we're done? Take her to meet the virtual family?'

'No, tomorrow I have something else in mind,' Bones said again, trying to focus his attention on getting the darts anywhere near the target and not form some new holes in his so-called friends' bodies. Okay, that was a little mean, he told himself, beneath their stupidly juvenile attempts to play detective, they really just wanted him to be happy. Even the green-sludge-for-blood Spock seemed to be prioritizing this aspect of his well-being. In the vein of extending an olive branch after nearly turning them both into Star-Fleet tartar, Bones asked for an ice water from the bartender to clear his throat. 'Her birthday's coming up on the twenty-fifth, and I've got an idea of what to get her but…I dunno, just seems corny to act like a dewy-eyed teenager.'

'Given that our behaviour today appeared to have a collective maturity of a trio of pre-pubescent males, I believe your interest in honouring the anniversary of your lover's birth does not constitute an excessively sentimental gesture,' Spock interrupted as he neatly nipped three darts within inches of the bullseye and landed the fourth half an eyelash away.

'We're not lovers,' Bones muttered, the red flush returning to his cheeks once more, 'we haven't even kissed yet.'

'Wait, hold on.' Kirk leapt up, unsure of how much more surprise his heart could take before he became Bones' patient for real. 'You mean to say that you haven't even _kissed_ her yet? Good god, man, you may not be a dinosaur yet but you're sure as hell moving like one!'

'I sense the captain is attempting to restore your good humour by mocking you,' Spock observed, making Bones roll his eyes.

'Like I said, I'm not gonna be some perverted sugar daddy.'

'No, you're gonna find your spine, and just ignore all the voices and the worries and the horse shit in here-' Kirk braved the fires of hell to poke the tip of his index finger into Bones' temple and nearly got an elbow in the face for it '-and just go for it, man. Seriously, scrap whatever you had planned for tomorrow and just do something with her for fun, then end the night with some serious tongue down her throat.'

'Grotesque imagery aside, the Captain is correct in his assessments,' Spock added, making Kirk nod, then do a double take.

'Exactly. Wait, what?'

'I realize now that the situation Doctor McCoy faces is a variant of Schroedinger's Cat,' Spock postulated, 'that just as the cat in the box with the vial of poison may be alive or dead, so you may find until you open the lid of the box that your relationship with Christine equally has both positive and negative outcomes.'

'So I need to crack open Christine's box and see what falls out?' Bones replied dryly, making Kirk howl with laughter.

'How about getting through your first date, then worry about her…cat?'


	8. Better Together

By the time he got back to his quarters Bones still had Kirk's laughter and Spock's advice ringing in his ears. Stripping off so he was down to his skin, he flopped over on his bed and sincerely thought about indulging himself in one more wet shower when he noticed the blinking light on his PADD indicating a new text message from Christine. Curious, he pressed the view button and laughed when he saw the photo of a fluffy black and white dog on its back, forepaws flung over its nose along with a quick text message - _is this the Bones the students will meet tomorrow?_

He flipped to his comm centre on his PADD and to his surprise saw Christine's green available light glowing steady. 'Just go for it,' he muttered as he pressed the video-call icon, 'alright, Jim, this is me going for it.'

'It's you going for what?'

'Oh!' Startled to see her actually answer, Bones was suddenly aware he was totally nude and made sure the screen focused on his face and not the rest of him as Christine's face filled his screen. From the angle, Bones could tell she was lying on her side in bed and, good God above, the strong unadorned curve of her shoulder made him ninety-seven percent certain she was as naked as him in her own bed. 'Hey, I didn't think you'd still be awake.'

'Why, how late it is?'

'Just past zero-fifteen.'

'That's not late,' Christine snickered, 'at least for me.'

'If you're nervous about seeing a bunch of school kids tomorrow, don't be. That age group, they love all kinds of science-y gross out stuff, plus your greenhouse will be good for those who are a little more squeamish.'

'I'm not nervous for tomorrow. Well, sort of,' she amended, combing her fingers through her hair. 'I…you've seen my medical file, you know what I went through in the Outer Rim.'

'Not really, no,' he replied, shifting to rest his weight on his elbow. 'I'm not your attending physician, that's Doctor Picardo. Besides, I'm a man of my word, I don't snoop.'

'A lot of what I did was treat kids who were injured directly by attacks or injured in flight from the more war-torn areas. I haven't had a lot of experience with them since then because it's just been too hard after seeing the things I did.'

'You were pretty cool when we went on shore leave in August when we were at the Grateful Dead Festival and Joanna was there with me.'

'If you can't have fun around Joanna McCoy, check your pulse because you might be dead. It's pretty hard to stay in a grumpy mood once she starts turning on her charm,' Christine admitted with a grin, and genuinely meant it. Joanna McCoy was so much like her father that Christine, Chekov and Sulu hadn't found it a challenge at all to have her along for the fun at the music festival. On her screen, Bones' face split into a proud-papa grin.

'Beauty and brains, it's a good combo I gave her.'

'Well the _brains_ maybe,' Christine teased him, giggling when he feigned insult in the form of a pressed palm to his chiseled chest.

'I'm wounded, truly, maybe so much I'll reconsider putting put out tomorrow night too,' he sniffed, then laughed with her even as the paper-cut to his heart throbbed a little. He'd remembered that afternoon well with Christine and Joanna, privately calling them his two favourite girls. He'd watched that afternoon the way she'd thoroughly enjoyed indulging in her youthful side by accompanying Joanna on various rides he was too chicken-shit to try thanks to his fear of flying things crashing, and conversely Christine had treated Joanna like her own person, not just his kid, the way she answered her questions about Star Fleet and the school she went through to get her nursing degree. Then Christine had taken the photo of the two McCoys that now made Bones' wallpaper on his comm centre. If pressed, he'd have to admit it was around that time that Bones had started thinking of Christine as someone more than just a colleague.

He was brought back into the present when Christine pursed her lips at him and replied in a husky bedroom voice, 'That's okay, you could just…watch me…do things…'

'Like what?' Bones felt his blood go south and was glad she couldn't see just yet what such teasing did to his body.

'Oh, I don't know…' Christine shrugged slowly. 'But I know being a nice girl will be the last thing on my mind.'

'Dirty, Nurse Chapel,' he breathed, his fingers itching to stroke her soft naked shoulders, not to mention other parts of her. 'You're making it very…hard…to not come up there and…do things now.'

'Tomorrow, Doctor. Then we'll see if you give as good as you get.'

'You're killing me,' Bones groaned playfully, then let out a short cough as he felt the thrum in his blood she never failed to put there; he wouldn't be able to handle much more before he exploded in a very literal way. 'Alright, I need some sleep and you do too.'

'Sleep isn't always so easy for me,' she admitted, 'I still have nights when it takes me a while to unwind. Still have that feeling I need to be on alert.'

'Hey, I get it. When Jo was first born, I was terrified I'd sleep through her crying and needing me, so I'd just stay up half the night.'

'Aww, what a good dad.'

The way she said it had something unlocking inside Bones' brain, recalling part of the talk he'd had with Spock and Kirk in the pub that despite being a father, she simply saw him as a good father and that was that. He gave her a warm smile, saw the playfulness mellow in her eyes into something deeper and more meaningful. 'Thanks,' he replied, 'it's been a long time since I've heard that.'

'Well, you know deep down it's true, just like it's true I'll look like I've been in a fist fight from the bags under my eyes if I don't try to get some sleep.'

'Don't let me keep you up then.' Bones swallowed tightly when he saw her shift from her side to her stomach. 'Christine?'

'Yeah?'

'I find sometimes the best thing I can do to put myself out is just…give myself a helping hand.' Bones watched her face go from confusion to intrigued to understanding.

'That sounds like a rather interesting method. Perhaps I might try it out.'

The idea of her actually doing so, the mental picture it created in Bones' overheated hormone-soaked brain had him stuttering out his goodnights before he could make a fool of himself. 'Right, ah, well, okay then. See you in the morning.'

He ended the vid-call, then headed for his bathroom to indulge in his second water shower of the day and take his own advice.

* * *

The following morning, Christine was up early and working at the medical bay's admin desk, double checking all the notes she'd made the previous day for the students that would be coming to visit. Being an organized when on the job sort, she reviewed the itinerary she'd drafted for the medical sciences department. Their guests were members of the Ambassador's Club, whatever that meant, so there would be a cross section of all grades in the school clustered by age in groups of ten coming through each station at regular intervals. She'd managed to convince Kirk to let her show off the green house as part of the medical scenes rotation, and now was preparing her tour guide type remarks so that those who had little to no background or interest in plant science would be able to enjoy the presentation.

Breathing deep, Christine felt the smile creep across her face when the tube of orange juice suddenly slid into view, pushed there by an index finger she knew to belong to only one person.

'Think I'll need some of Chekov's vodka to add in there to get through today,' she told Bones without looking up.

'He's a scotch man,' Bones replied, pleased when she grabbed the juice tube to crack it open, 'and you'd be tanked after five sips anyways.'

'First, it would be more like ten and secondly, I'd just babble more with any liquor in me,' she replied, and Bones could see the nerves in her eyes no matter how casual her body language. 'Why did I agree to this?'

'Because you're my second in command and you have a different experience in Star Fleet than a doctor, and the girls should hear they're not second banana to a male doctor.' Bones gave her a look. 'Did you ever think about going into medical school?'

'I did, but when I was making my life decisions, it was either do my masters in nursing and get into Star Fleet that way or go to medical school, do a residency, and then finally get into Star Fleet and by that time…god I'm so sorry, Leonard.' Christine felt awful, complaining to Bones when he'd joined Star Fleet after the age of thirty-five as a student. 'I don't think you're old, really.'

'No I get it, I mean, it is a second career path for me. My first day in xenobiology I got mistaken for the professor.' Bones rolled his neck, shook his head. 'It doesn't bother me, though, because I've gots lots of stamina in me yet.'

Christine giggled, unaware she was putting Bones own nerves for the day at ease. 'I bet you do. Listen, about tonight-'

'Yeah?' Bones felt a quick lick of panic at the idea she might be telling him they should cancel their plans.

'What should I wear? I know you wanna keep it a surprise, but-'

'A dress,' he replied with a firm nod. 'Maybe that green one you wore to the Aquarius satellite fundraiser in April?'

'Really? Seems kinda fancy for a first date,' she commented, then slapped her hand to her mouth as panic coated her stomach. 'I-'

'Not so much fancy as event appropriate,' Bones told her, and impulsively reached out to take her hand in his, rubbing his thumb over the soft skin on the back of her hand in reassurance. 'Don't worry about being overdressed. I'll be wearing something similar.'

'You have your own green dress?'

'Yeah, but I'm always worried it doesn't make my legs look as good as yours.'

'How do you do that?' she mused with a grin that came in spite of herself. 'You always manage to make me feel so much less awkward about the personal stuff.'

'Part of my charm.'

He turned his wrist, letting their fingers interlock and for a moment they just enjoyed the simple innocent connection of it. Part of Bones wondered if he was playing it too slow but given how they'd flirt hot and heavy one moment and resist it the next, not labelling their first date - because that was exactly what their plans tonight were - as a first date seemed like a good approach.

Christine let the moment fill her every sense; somehow it was more intimate than any near-miss in a greenhouse they could have had. Something in this sweetly simple gesture made her feel more intimate with him than any naughty-talk. Okay, maybe not the naughty talk, she admitted, but certainly it reminded her that there was more here than just a few rogue hormones going bananas.

The silence of the moment was broken when the alert-beep of a ship wide broadcast brought them back to reality as Kirk's voice informed them they'd be docking in about fifteen minutes and all school assembly speakers should be at the landing shuttle ready to disembark in ten.

'Guess that's us,' Christine said, feeling a little lame for saying it at all; she turned her attention to her notes, downed the rest of her juice. 'Thanks again for the booster.'

Stretching to her tiptoes, she planted a quick peck on his cheek and made her way to the landing shuttle boarding doors, unsurprised to see Uhura already waiting for her before anyone had arrived.

'Your lipstick is smudged,' she whispered to her friend, then giggled when Christine hastily swiped her fingertips around the corners of her mouth. 'Gotcha.'

'Oh, you bitch.'

'So?'

It was amazing how a single word question could utterly loaded with drama. 'He told me I should wear the green dress from the charity dinner in April for whatever he has planned on the holodeck tonight.'

'That makes your legs look really good,' Uhura informed her, earning a snort of appreciation from Christine.

'That's what he said too.'

'Don't be nervous,' Uhura murmured as others began to arrive, and the doors for the shuttle opened with a small hiss to let the officers board two by two.

'I'm not. I mean I am, but…I dunno it's more like I'm excited.'

'Uh, Chrissy, that's how first dates usually work.'

'Yeah, this is different though.'

'I know,' Uhura replied as they found their seats. 'Right now though, I'm hoping my Vartan isn't too rusty that I embarrass myself with the principal.'

As the shuttle filled and the conversations turned towards the events of the day, Christine found her own anxiety pick up; what if she had a flashback that brought out memories of being in the Outer Rim, or something happened to one of the kids, that they got hurt or ate something in the greenhouse they shouldn't?' Unable to resist, she took out her PADD and quickly texted Bones - _still feeling freaked out, any advice on speaking to children?_

 _Be yourself, just like you do with Jo,_ he replied, making Christine breathe a little easier. She was just being silly, she schooled herself, she was probably more nervous to present than the kids were to hear it. She looked down as she saw the new message from Bones flash onto her PADD and had to bite the inside of her cheek to keep from keeling over in laughter - _and if that doesn't work, blast them with that Pride and Joy lemon whatever, and they'll be at your mercy just like me._


	9. ABC

True enough, by the time the students were assembled in the school's auditorium and the other crew members took their turns speaking, Christine had begun to feel much more at ease. From her place on the stage beside Bones while listening to other crewmen talk about about the academic achievements and personal interests it took to fit into the various departments and branches of Star Fleet; she had an excellent vantage point to survey the audience. Many of the younger listeners were eagerly listening, eating up Kirk's tall tales and giggling at Spock's deadpan delivery while the elder students tried to keep cool, though Christine recognized the signs amongst them of being genuinely curious, not to mention starry-eyed over some of the good-looking senior officers. While Chekov explained the role of the navigator was so much more than just using a map, Christine was certain she heard some girls in the audience give off little lovelorn sighs and was very thankful she hadn't sounded like that when she'd been sneaking peaks at Bones' ass when he was in the bio-lab.

'And now, I'd like to invite our senior medical officer, Doctor McCoy and his second in command Nurse Chapel up to talk about the health sciences branch of Star Fleet.'

There was a warm smattering of applause, and as agreed upon, Bones took the podium first while Christine remained seated; she listened to him explain how he'd grown up in Kentucky with the intention of becoming a vet to specialize in horses but then decided on human medical school. It wasn't hard to hang on his every word as she listened to him talk about his passion for practicing medicine, how he'd gone into Star Fleet despite having a paralyzing fear of dying in things that fly and laughed along with the audience over his anecdote about his being sick after the first time he used a transporter to beam back from an away mission.

'Being in Star Fleet medical is far more than just treating the ship's crew, though,' Bones went on, and Christine rose to give her remarks, 'so I'd like to invite Nurse Chapel up to talk about her experiences as a Star Fleet medical officer for you to get a picture of what it's like beyond being a doctor.'

He turned away from the podium, saw the calm set of Christine's face that would fool anyone but him; Bones could see the nerves in her eyes so he gave her the briefest of winks before sitting back down beside Kirk.

'I saw that,' he muttered as Bones smoothed the front of his uniform when he took his seat once more.

'Don't know what you mean.'

Kirk just shook his head, but Bones had already tuned him out as he listened to Christine talk about the opportunities of being in Star Fleet to support peace missions such as Doctors Without Borders and the Intergalactic Council of Medicine; her voice had such a hypnotically engaging quality to it that she could have been talking about flying toasters from Mercury and he'd have been entertained. Despite his surroundings Bones let himself fantasize about hearing that voice in his ear, calling him a god among men, begging him to fu-

'Thank you and I hope our visitors have fun in an hour when they join us on the _Enterprise_.'

Bones brought himself out of his daydream and rose, quietly inhaling when the lemon-pie scent reached him seconds before she did. 'Good job,' he murmured to her as the students rose from their chairs to be dismissed back to their classrooms.

'My hands were shaking the whole time,' she murmured back, and Bones wanted with all his might to reach out and take one to help her steady, but they were on the clock and he wasn't about to do something so bold that would invite too many nosy questions.

Instead, he poked her in the side. 'Quit being such a rookie, Nurse Chapel, we've got work to do.'

'Don't _do_ that,' she hissed as the shriek bubbled into her throat, then died as she caught that fragrance of him and went to jelly inside.

Bones bit his tongue to keep from teasing her further as Chekov and Sulu caught up with them, the former thanking Christine times one million for his appointment schedule and the latter asking himself if Joanna's school ever got to do such a fun field trip. The casual mention of his daughter by Sulu left Bones feeling like he'd been punched in the stomach with a bowling ball. He put it from his mind as best as he could, but as they made the trip in the shuttle back to the _Enterprise_ Bones couldn't help letting his thoughts drift to his sweet baby girl and wondered if on his lunch break he'd get to record his next message home to her.

He didn't have long to brood, for once on board the ship, he found himself heading straight to medical to make sure the project kits, prepped thanks to Christine, were set out for the first round of guests; they'd be letting the year-four students select a unmarked specimen sample from the freezer catalogue and use their scientific inquiry skills to determine what it was. When the doors slid open, he saw Christine already back in the lab treating one of the engineering ensigns for a nasty burn, and unintentionally caught her eye. Their gazes held for just a second, and in that second Bones felt everything good she stirred up in him rise to the surface, just as Kirk said it would once he drowned out the naysaying nagging in his brain.

'Soon,' he muttered, going into the biolab with the kits, 'tonight will be here soon enough.'

* * *

Once the visits got underway, Christine had to admit two things: one, Bones was right, that just by talking to the students as people she'd been able to put herself more at ease being around kids again, and two, that being so nervous in the first place now felt like foolishly wasted energy. It was so much fun to watch the students argue like full-fledged science officers, especially the pair who had the Batavian octopus cells; they reminded Christine of herself and Bones when they were debating over quarantine protocols what should take precedence. She circulated to give hints, answer questions, but mostly it was just a real treat to listen to their chatter.

 _'No, it's not an anthropoid, look at the exoskeleton! It looks like your dad!'_

 _'How many eyeballs does a Barilkian mammoth tarantula have, again?'_

 _'We can't use Fowler's dye on a frozen specimen!'_

'Ladies and gentlemen you've got about three minutes more before tidying up your work stations and presenting your findings to the senior medical officer!' Christine called out, and the flurry of activity increased in the lab tenfold. Looking around, she saw Bones through the glass windows, trying not to snicker at her while she just gave him a filthy stare. When his response was to wink at her, she pretended to snarl at him which made him laugh.

'Miss Nurse Chapel? What should we do with our specimens?'

Christine looked over, felt a little pull in her stomach as she saw the young Cygnusian girl holding up her tray containing the preserved remains of a Ceti Alpha Five slug. She had a sudden flash of being in a make-shift hospital inside an abandoned shopping mall, treating a young pair of Cygnusian girls who'd been visiting their auntie when the satellite was hit by a raider's plasma torpedo. Her sister had been killed instantly and the girl had lost so much blood that Christine had barely held it together to treat her and get her a transfusion, but she died a week later anyways during surgery.

 _Not the same girl,_ Christine reminded herself and looked at the tray before looking back at the girl. 'What does a scientist do with a specimen no longer needed?'

'Umm…'

'Puts it in the…?'

'Biohazard disposal locker?' At Christine nod, the girl skipped away with her classmates who were all shedding off their protective gear and filtering back to the main reception of the medical bay. Letting out a shaky breath, Christine went around the lab benches, gathering tools to sterilize while she focused on her heart rate staying in its regular rhythm.

Bones didn't miss the way Christine hung back, not coming out to bid the group goodbye, but waited until they'd left with their chaperone for the bridge before scooting into the lab and catching Christine's elbow.

'Hey, what is it?'

'Noth-'

'Horse shit, Christine.' Bones kept his touch gentle but firm as he turned her to face him. 'What's wrong?'

'The Cygnusian girl…she looked just like a girl I treated in the Outer Rim, Nikita…her and her sister…neither of them made it…' Christine swallowed tightly, embarrassed to realized her voice was going thick with tears. 'It…it took me back, is all.'

'Come here.' Bones pulled her into the walk-in cooler where they kept their samples and experiments on ice, and gave her a tight hug. 'It wasn't her. This girl was alive and healthy, and maybe you've now inspired her to be a nurse some day too.'

Christine wanted to sink into him, so strong and warm; it was probably very anti-neo-feminist of her to want to just be held by a man, but progress be damned, she liked this man very much and knew no matter what she could rely on him. She wrapped her arms around his torso to return the hug, felt the chill of the cooler dry up her eyes. 'Maybe she'll figure out a way to treat plasma torpedo wounds without so much blood loss to the victim.'

'There you go.' What an awful memory, Bones thought, drawing back and rubbing his thumb over her cheek, then pressed a reassuring kiss to her forehead. If that was a mild one, no wonder she'd be on edge to sleep out of fear of reliving such horrors. 'Why don't you hang out here, get the next samples ready for our final tour-group till you feel more yourself?'

'Can't, I have to go meet them at the greenhouse, and from what I heard Sulu say at lunch, the sixth years are the toughest group to impress in this lot.' Christine paused, then kissed his cheek in return once more. 'Don't think this little setback means I wanna cancel tonight.'

'What setback? You had a memory flash, big deal,' Bones replied and Christine felt her confidence renew. 'Hey, you got any kudzu growing in that greenhouse?'

'No, why?'

'Shame. I thought maybe if they get way too mouthy for you, you could use some for a demonstration of asphyxia and accidentally tug a little harder than is necessary.'

Christine laughed it off at first, but by the time she was escorting the year-six group post-greenhouse to the med-bay she was starting to think he was right. They were a far cry from the eager-beavers they'd already seen that day, snotty and sullen and snickering at nearly everything that came out of her mouth and rolling their eyes at everything she made mention of.

She was suddenly glad they were going to a place with laser scalpels and knock-out drugs.

'And this is the medical bay, run by Doctor McCoy,' she said, clenching her jaw to keep the smile in place as Bones got up from the desk where he'd been making up notes for Picardo on the next-day morning shift. 'Doctor, these are the year-six students.'

'Welcome,' he greeted them, saw the the boys roll their eyes while the female students, in particular an Orion girl in a low cut top and tight black pants, shift and flutter their eyelashes at him. 'I'm Doctor McCoy and I'm the ship's senior medical officer.'

'So you're a real doctor, not like, a nurse?' one of the boys asked, sending a ripple of low laughter through the group, and Bones wanted to pop the little bastard right in his needle-like Klavian teeth.

'Yes, I am a real doctor and Nurse Chapel is a real nurse, we've both acquired multiple degrees in our specific branches of medicine.'

'Is it really hard?' the Orion girl took a step closer and Bones felt slimy all over when he caught the pheromone whiff she brought with her. 'Being a doctor, all the way out here? You must get so lonely.'

'Alright, dial it down, hot pants,' Bones told the girl sternly, feeling a surge of paternal anger. 'So, we've got some stuff set up in the lab and-'

'Yawn, boring, where are the dead bodies of the aliens you abduct for experiments?' the Klavian boy interrupted once more, earning a reproachful look from the Vulcan chaperone.

'Bertus, alien is a highly inaccurate term, as what is alien on Earth is home on another planet.'

The boy rolled his eyes. 'Bla, bla, blah. Seriously, do we get-'

 _Holodeck to Medical_ , the ship's computer interrupted, and Bones hit the button on the console.

'Bones here.'

 _Incoming patient, acknowledge._

'Patient? Who are we treating?'

 _Unable to respond, information not provided at source. Acknowledge?_

'Yeah, acknowledge,' Bones replied, then straightened up. 'Looks like you're in for a treat, we have a real patient coming in.'

'Ugh, spare us the fake transfer orders, Doctor,' an Earth girl sighed, twisting a long lock of straw-blonde hair around her finger. 'If you don't want us poking around, then why did you say yes to the visit?'

'Our captain did, which is something you learn in Star Fleet. Respect of authority,' Christine jumped in, her insulted ego threatening to bubble over. 'Such as if a superior officer tells you to stand on your head and eat pickled peaches, you do it, even if you don't agree.'

'So basically you're a mindless drone? Why do they need humans for Star Fleet, then?'

Before Christine could kick the snotty little fucker Bertus square in his Klavian clackers, the medical doors whooshed open and Scotty came rushing in with a student in his arms moaning lightly.


	10. Fresh Eyes

'Eli!'

The mouthy little toe-rag who'd been given Christine a hard time suddenly lost his swagger, all but leaped over as the visibly shaken chief engineer put the student onto an exam bed. 'What happened, why's he here?'

'What's going on, Mister Scott?' Bones asked in his calming way.

'The kids were playin' a game of king's dodge on the holodeck and this laddie here, he took a small hit in the chest with the ball but then he coul' nay get up,' Scotty explained, 'so we, that is the school chaperone and I, though' it best to bring him straight here.'

'Did he hit his head when he fell? Was there any dizziness or vomiting, lack of awareness?'

'Nay, none o' that, just weakened like he'd run the San Francisco marathon,' Scott replied as Christine moved the scanner over the child's body, which fed data directly into the PADD she passed to Bones.

'He'll be alright, though, right?' Bertus inquired, and Christine at once saw the family resemblance. Brothers, she decided, and pulled out her stylus.

'We'll do what we can. Does your brother have any pre-existing medical conditions?'

'Something about his heart, he has to take a pill for it every day.'

'Just one, or several, or the same one a few times a day?'

'I'm not gonna stand here and play twenty questions when my brother could be dying, lady!'

'Hey!' Bones barked it, making Bertus jump and face him. 'You show some respect to Nurse Chapel, she's doing her job to help save your brother from a trip to the hospital, or worse.'

'I think it's the same one once a day,' the boy relented.

Christine nodded. 'When was the last time he went to the doctor?'

'Just before we went back to school after our March break. Mom got his pills filled up, then Mama took us out for dinner, and the next day we transpo'd back to the school.'

'Got it. Does your brother have any allergies? Food, environment, medical?'

'He can't have quad-somethings, it's bad for his heart.'

'Quadra-chain antivirals?'

Bertus nodded. 'Oh man, our moms are gonna kill me, they always tell me watch out for him, but I can't watch him all the time, I'm not his doctor or his babysitter!'

'Right now, you need to have a seat and let us work on Eli,' Christine replied, signalling to Scotty to keep the rest of the group occupied and turned back. 'Eli is ten years old, and has a heart condition known as Capshaw migration, most commonly seen in Klavian males. His medical records show no other pre-existing conditions except for an allergy to quadra-chained antivirals.'

Bones read the chart on the PADD, nodded briskly as he popped in his stethoscope - sometimes the old ways worked for a reason - and put his fingers to Eli's wrist to check his pulse. 'Get me an oral hypospray, small dose, of nitroglycerin and a subcutaneous syringe of triple-four blockers.'

'Right away, Doctor.' Christine immediately went into the lab to the medication dispensary where she acquired the vials Bones requested, and added two half-dose vials of a calmative to help put the boy into a resting state. Returning, she uncapped the hypoallergenic tops of the blockers and the nitro-spray, saw Eli's eyes flutter. 'Eli?'

'Tired,' he mumbled, rubbing at his stomach. 'Wanna sleep.'

'You can have a rest soon, but first can you tell me what happened.'

'Got hit with the ball, then everything kinda slowed down inside,' he said, and Christine got the first dose of the spray in as he yawned. 'Did we win?'

'Did you go into blackout?'

'Nuh-uh.' Eli shook his head, yawned again and Christine added a second spray. 'Just want a great…big…nap…'

'Well, now that's a shame because if you do, you'll miss out on going to the greenhouse with Nurse Chapel and your field trip group,' Bones informed him, taking the injection vial Christine offered him.

'We have snacks there,' she added, holding the boy's hand in hers while the other checked the pulse at his neck and nodded. 'Pulse is steady at eighty-eight, Doctor.'

'Excellent, just what we like seeing after a few nitro-blasts. Now Eli, I want you to look at Nurse Chapel and tell me if you think she looks more like Cinderella or Sleepy Beauty?'

The boy turned his head, fixing his dark eyes on Christine and considered her; the move gave Bones a perfectly clear field to administer the injection. 'Mmm, I think she looks more like Alice in Wonderland.'

'Really?'

'I- ow!'

The quick sting of the injection was fleeting on the boy's skin, and the effect was almost immediate - the healthy colour began to return to Eli's face and his voice strengthened as he insisted on trying to sit up but Christine was quicker; she gave him one more dose of the oral hypospray before recommending his stay for at least another hour to ensure he was still able to function normally.

The sudden smattering of clapping startled them both, and Christine and Bones turned back to see the group of teenagers applauding their work. 'Uh, thank you,' Bones said to them, 'but this is what we do. Not as dramatic sometimes, but you're always quick acting because you're relying on your skills as a physician or nurse.'

'We also have to act as field medics from time to time as well during away missions as well,' Christine added, and saw the hardened looks in their eyes soften as she and Bones forewent the planned activities and just talked to the students while Eli recuperated, treating it like a Q&A seminar. Every so often when she recounted a tale of treating civilians in the war-torn Outer Rim, she caught the look in Bones' eye as a cross between empathy and encouragement, the same look when they'd been in the cold-storage locker and shared a moment. She smiled back, certain that she was giving herself away but not really caring at that point.

'I have a question!' The Orion girl asked, eyes dancing. 'How do you have a relationship with someone when you're on a five year mission? Doesn't it get lonely without them…or, you know, tempting to love the one you're with?'

'It can, that is a reality, but I know that if you've got a good strong relationship where you stay connected, then-'

'Are you in a relationship like that?'

Now Bones stuttered; how was it teenagers were even more probing than his own friends? Fortunately, he had his lovely Christine to bail him out.

'That's too personal a question for Doctor McCoy to answer to someone not a close friend,' she informed the students, saw the Orion girl and a friend trade looks. 'And before you think of asking me, the answer is no comment.'

Before the conversation could get any more awkward, the ship-wide broadcast went out from Kirk thanking the visitors and that the final rotation had come to an end so they needed to head back to deck twenty-two for their departure shuttles. As the group filtered out, Bertus escorting his brother along with him, Christine heard a few of them mumble how Bones and herself were totally doing it, and if not they should be. Alone once more, Christine and Bones looked at each other and laughed hysterically, partly out of the nerves that had been hit but mostly to alleviate the held-in anxiety of the day.

'Teenagers,' she managed, swiping at the tears in the corners of her eyes. 'Oh, man and just think, by summer's end your sweet Joanna will become one of them.'

'I've had a stressful enough day waiting for someone to slice an appendage off in the lab with a laser scalpel, do not add the idea of my beautiful baby girl flirting with a man old enough to be her father into the mix,' Bones groused, resting on his elbow on the counter. 'And tonight will be even worse.'

'It will?'

'Shit, no, not us, not…no.' He shook her head fervently when her voice sounded so panicked. 'I mean, when we have the reception if you thought those girls were bad, wait until you meet the man-hungry moms who come to things like this.'

'Oh?'

'They make Korvellian jackals look like snuggly puppies.'

Christine's eyebrows lifted skyward so fast they nearly shot off her face. 'Really?'

'They hear I'm a doctor and immediately have a picture of a life of luxury then feel misled when I say I'm flat broke and divorced with a daughter who is nearly twelve from harridan of an ex-wife.' Bones shot her a slightly doleful look. 'Still sure you wanna keep our plans tonight?'

'Absolutely.'

Christine slid closer, gave his arm a friendly squeeze and fluttered a little inside. The regulation suits did nothing to highlight his physique but that was probably for the best so that she could actually get some work done around him. 'Then I will see you later at the reception.'

'Wait, you're just taking off like that, so soon?'

'Leonard, a tip since you have a daughter growing into a young woman?' Christine lifted her shoulders in a minuscule shrug. 'It's already sixteen-hundred forty-five, the reception begins at eighteen-thirty, I'll already be pushing it to make myself into something fabulous.'

'You are already fabulous,' he told her, leaning closer to breathe deep that wonderful lemon-pie fragrance he always associated with Christine. 'But I see your point. Girls have their rituals which you gotta respect.'

'Exactly.'

He was so close to her, he could almost count her eyelashes individually. It would be so easy to tilt his head just a little to the side and plant a big fat kiss right on her lush full lips. But it would be easy to do that, and he didn't want easy with her, he wanted it to be romantic like she deserved.

Chickening out for what felt like the millionth time, Bones gave her hand a squeeze and told her, 'You do realize you could wear a recycled paper bag and still be the most beautiful woman there, right?'

'Well, I may end up looking like a paper bag princess if I don't head out and do something to resemble a human female,' she laughed, then gathered her things and left, tossing a 'see you soon' over her shoulder.

* * *

'I feel like an idiot.'

'Why? You're a dad, haven't you done a bunch of these before?'

'And every time I always manage to get hit on, groped or in one unfortunate case my ass openly pinched. By a deputy headmaster no less.'

Kirk chuckled, shook his head as he sipped lightly on more orange juice; it was just his luck a thirteen year old Phorkys he nearly mistook for Keenser was sneezing on everything in sight. 'Poor handsome available Bones, getting hit on by attractive single women just looking to bed you for the fun of it.'

'Single, not always, and attractive, rarely, at least to me.' Bones tightened his grip on his drink as he looked towards the open doors of the mess hall and was disappointed when the new arrival wasn't the one person he wanted to see. 'I had a married woman once slip her number into my front pocket just so she could feel me up.'

'And that's bad because…why?'

'Because I don't go for married women, flings or otherwise.' Bones wasn't about to add that the incident had caused Melanie to deny him his shore-leave visit with Joanna when the blown-up rumours had circulated back to her. 'Besides, you know why else that'd be bad.'

'Yes, I do, and there she is.'

Bones turned and for a moment felt everything fade into the background just like in the old-time screen-vids he and Christine had discovered they both enjoyed. He saw her, a vision in an emerald green dress with gold gel-sandals that laced up to her knees; the v-neck of the dress dipped downwards enough to give him a view of her curves yet remained high enough to stay professional, and she'd fastened long thin earrings of dark green crystal drops so it made her long neck look elegant and regal. Her hair was loose and wavy over her shoulders instead of its usual style pinned back off her face, but her eyes were still the same vivid blue - Christine wasn't one to go in for tinting her irises with temp gel-drops as was the fashion Bones had seen amongst other female crew - and she'd added some type of smudged-smoke shadow and dark liner so they looked like two deep blue pools Bones wants to spend the rest of the night swimming in. Preferably naked, with her, under the stars of a moonlight beach on the holodeck.

'Wow,' he muttered, and even Kirk had to admit the nurse was a stunner.

'She cleans up nice.'

Bones gave him a withering stare. 'Nice is for rainbows, she looks hot.'

'Then go get her.'

'Not just yet, I wanna watch a little more.'

At this, Kirk choked on his orange juice, went to find napkins to prevent himself from splattering his dress uniform.

Christine saw Kirk leave Bones' side, and did her level best to stay cool upon seeing Bones in his dress uniform. Having seen just the previous morning what was tucked under that tunic, it made her want to loose his collar all the more. He'd shaved - even at a distance, she could tell he'd done so - and more than likely he'd showered so he would have that deliciously male fragrance around him. The kind that made her think of riding horses in the fresh mountain air while wearing leather boots, denim pants, and a checkered shirt.

Then they'd hitch the horses somewhere and ride each other under an old oak tree as the last glimmers of sunset drifted over the horizon.

'Nurse Chapel?'

She turned at the mention of her name, stomach sinking inwardly when she saw one of the women she recognized from Eli's medical file as one of his mothers. Still, this was the point of the evening, she reminded herself as she extended her hand and began a talk with the grateful parent. The cocktails, the dinner were all intended to be an evening for the parents of the kids. Whatever annoyances Christine felt had to be tabled until they were officially off the clock.

'You know, if you are ever looking for a position beyond this ship, I'd be happy to recommend you to be a school nurse in the Federation's diplomatic school system.'

Christine didn't miss the slightly condescending tone at the mention of the _Enterprise_. 'I am flattered by your offer and your support, but I fully intend to remain an officer as long as possible.'

'But what about-'

'It's us who should be grateful to have such dedication in the medical ranks on the ship.'

Both women turned and had varying degrees of lustful reaction when they saw Bones, a short pilsner glass one hand and a bourbon on the rocks in the other; he passed the beer to Christine and kept the bourbon for himself.

'Why hello there, you must be the Doctor McCoy who saved my son.'

'That I did,' Bones agreed all the while thinking _back off tiger_. 'Truly it was a joint diagnosis and treatment between myself and Nurse Chapel.'

'Oh, right.'

Christine couldn't believe it; the woman had been just singing her praises moments ago, now suddenly with an XY chromosome on the scene she was barely noticeable above dryer lint.

'So, tell me, Doctor, what do you do with your time when you're not saving children's lives?'

'Studying how to save them, or spending time with my daughter Joanna whenever I can, whether it's over vid-chat or on shore-leave.'

'Oh, a single dad.' The aggressive mom put her hand on Bones' arm, making Christine want to break every last one of her digging little fingers. 'Well, surely you must make time for…fun.'

'Doctor, I do believe I see Ensign Chekov over there, didn't he need to speak to us about the Frisian report?' Christine interrupted, earning a look of profound gratitude from Bones and an annoyed pinched one from the parent. 'So sorry to cut this short, but it is a time-sensitive matter. You understand.'

'Certainly. Perhaps we'll have time to catch up later.'

Once out of earshot as they made their way across the room to Chekov, Bones leaned in and whispered hoarsely, 'Thank you so much for that Christine, I was pretty sure she was about to mount me then and there if I said another word.'

'Anytime.'

'No, I mean it. Only woman I want looking at me like that is you.'

Christine fought the blush as best as she could, whispered back in an exaggerated southern-belle accent, 'Doctor, please, not in front of our guests! How long until we're sprung to the holodeck?'

'About…' Bones checked his wrist unit, calculated. 'Another two hours and fifteen minutes, easily.'

'Well, let's pray that woman was the low point and things only get better from here.'


	11. Geronimo

Sadly, especially for Bones, Eli's mother turned out to be a featherweight in the creepy contender category. As the night wore on, and more and more drinks were consumed by their guests, Bones was ready to crawl into the centre of a black hole and set up camp. Almost every time he managed to wriggle free from some overzealous single woman look to break her dry spell with him in a private turbo-lift, there were at least three genuinely thankful and appreciative ones lined up to ask questions for gathering information on their child's future career options. The whole evening not only made him ache for Christine, looking like a busty human-sized Tinkerbell as she seemed to float from group to group making polite party chat, but for the other woman in his life to whom he'd given his heart.

He missed Joanna so much tonight it felt like his soul was being used as a trampoline. He loved his life aboard the _Enterprise_ no question, but times like this reminded him of all that he was missing back on Earth. He'd first held her in his arms on a stormy August night and promised he'd always be there for her, day or night rain or shine. He'd broken that promise, was all he could think at events such as these. He was more hands-on and interactive with these kids in a single day than he'd gotten to be with his daughter in months.

Was that why things were coming to a head with Christine, Bones wondered fleetingly, then shook it off. No, no he'd been longing for the gorgeous nurse since before the last shore leave they'd taken on Earth. It was just a perfect storm, he decided as he let the Tantalus Minister for the Interior drone on and on about medical regulations for different species making his job a nightmare as he tried to raise his two children. He was just dealing with the unholy mess of a small hangover, a whopping dose of self-pity, more near-misses with Christine in the last three days than anything in their history up to this point, which also equated to three chances that frustratingly bottomed out just when Bones thought he was getting a real shot, and the fact they'd been suddenly turned into special guest stars for a group of rich students.

All he wanted was to just go back to his quarters, talk to Joanna, and hold Christine close but right now none of that was in the cards. Even the glossy promise of his holodeck date with Christine was starting to fade into a fantasy as the dark melancholy seeped further into his thoughts and permeated his brain.

'Thank you sir,' he managed to get out when the minister paused for breath, 'I will certainly remember your suggestions. Right now I need to speak with my captain a moment.'

Leaving the minister open mouthed, Bones wove his way through the thinning crowd until he saw Kirk, who was starting to look puffy-eyed and red-nosed. 'Good god, are you getting sick?'

'I hobe nod,' Kirk replied with obviously stuffed nasal passages. 'Last thing I wanna do rid dow is in'errup' day-night.'

'Yeah, about that, I think I need to head back to my quarters early.' Bones shook his head as Kirk started to inquire. 'Think it's gonna end up delayed.'

'Doe, doe, doe, don' led id ged you down,' Kirk shook his head, 'wad-ever id is, just led id go.'

'Too late. I could really use that break.'

'Very well. Diz-missed.'

Bones nodded briskly, then slipped out as quickly and quietly as possible, taking a route he knew would be less likely to get him noticed by other crewmen. Once alone in the turbo lift, he tugged at his dress uniform collar as he fought the pressure building up in his chest and his head. It would only be nine-pm in California, surely he could give her a call? Nope, Bones remembered, it was Wednesday on Earth which meant that Joanna had soccer until nine-thirty and would be going straight home into a shower and then bed according to Melanie's very strict schedule on school nights. An unexpected call would send his ex into fits of ultra-violet rage.

Reaching his quarters, he stripped out of his uniform and put on the loose fitting t-shirt and shorts he favoured when not on call, then took out his acoustic guitar from its case in his closet. He loved to play, whatever his mood, but he especially loved sending Joanna songs he wanted to teach her; Joanna had his taste in music so he knew whatever he sent would probably be appreciated.

Sitting down at his comm centre, Bones pulled up the app full of guitar tabs and set it on projection mode so he could see it displayed on the opposite wall. He'd left off in his 'Historical Movie Music' folder, and decided the haunting tones of Sir Edward Sheeran's _I See Fire_ suited his mood perfectly. Plucking the cords a little, he tried a few chords before launching into the song fully; Bones closed his eyes and let his fingers take over as he began to sing along in his mostly-alright voice, letting his own emotions rise and fall with the song until the first edges of his anxiety began to ebb.

'It sounds beautiful, Leonard.'

Jerking around at the voice, Bones nearly upended his chair when he saw Christine in his private-entrance foyer, fingers twisting together nervously while her face stayed set with concern. 'Hi, uh, what…what are you doing here?'

'I saw you leave in kind of a hurry and I wanted to check on you, make sure everything was okay. I was worried,' Christine admitted, taking a cautious step forward. 'Ever since the students left you've seemed kinda tense and…well…I thought maybe our plans for tonight might-'

'Yeah, Christine, I'm not sure if I'll be much good company tonight so maybe it's better to do it tomorrow instead,' Bones blurted out, feeling like a scumbag for probably ruining everything that had been openly building between them since their greenhouse interlude. He held his breath, waiting for the calm confusion or the heated temper; what he wasn't prepared for was her patient, considering look and the shake of her head.

'No.'

'No?'

'No,' Christine repeated, coming over to sit in the chair opposite him. 'You don't think I can see what's going on? Think you're the only one who can figure out when people are trying to cover up their emotional turmoil?'

'Alright, Nurse Chapel, what's your diagnosis?'

'You miss your daughter and being around the kids today made you feel guilty that you've had fun with them while missing her, and now that combined with all those cougars hunting you makes you feel like our plans seem silly. All you wanna do is crawl into bed and sob your face off because you can't handle missing Joanna or hurting me by cancelling our plans all at the same time.'

'That's…pretty damn close to right,' Bones admitted on a sad laugh. 'I miss Joanna, and I want to see you tonight, just us, without work interfering but now it has and given the kind of evening I had I don't think I'd be good company.'

'Fortunately for you, I am. Come on.'

'Come on where?'

'We've got holodeck plans and we're going to keep them.' Christine rose, held out her hand to him. 'Bones, having fun tonight doesn't mean you love your daughter any less, and I sincerely doubt Joanna would let you sit around and mope while a pretty girl your own age, or mostly, is asking you to keep the date you made with her. Oh and bring your guitar, you might like to have it where we're going.'

Put like that, Bones had a hard time arguing it. Keeping his guitar close, he rose and turned his hand so his palm pressed against hers while his fingers gently wrapped close over her soft skin.

They walked, still hand in hand, out of his quarters; despite knowing they wouldn't keep whatever they had secret, the hallways on this level were fortunately empty thanks to the reception and the holodeck itself was vacant. His hand suddenly felt cold as Christine let go to key her code into the programming panel.

'I know you had a new program to try out with me, so I hope you aren't too upset I'm planning something else I think will be helpful for both of us right now,' she told him, giving an apologetic smile before turning to the voice-command centre. 'Computer, activate program NCC-FLA-AMC.'

 _Program activated. Duration?_

Bones swallowed tightly when Christine turned those smoky blue bedroom eyes to him, give him that appraising look that had his dark mood starting to lift. 'Run time option D.'

 _Option D accepted. Provisions?_

'Clothing and transportation for two mandatory - one male and one female, food and drink preferred, ambience track four, and wildlife track one.'

 _Acknowledged. Privacy settings?_

'Total lockdown for duration of program. Programmer and emergency red alert override only.'

 _Acknowledged. Please proceed, Chapel, Nurse Christine and guest. Program will commence in approximately thirty seconds._

'If this were a date to cheer me up, wouldn't the clothing be optional?' Bones inquired wryly, making Christine laugh as the holodeck entrance door slid open. 'Ladies first.'

Picking up Bones' hand again she tugged him into the still-empty holodeck, stopping at a clearly pre-chosen spot. 'Close your eyes.'

'Why?'

'Just do it.'

Obliging her, Bones closed his eyes - and suddenly felt a tangy ocean breeze lap at his skin, heard the squawking cry of gulls overhead while below there was the gentle rush of water against the shore. He peeled back his eyelids to find himself standing at the water's edge of a cottage shore; a metre and a half to his right was a wide dock about fifteen feet long, at the end of which was tied a modest-sized sailing catamaran. The cottage - more like a mini-mansion up the hill - was back-lit by the setting sun, and the boathouse was a miniature version of the cottage.

'What is this place?'

'My happy place,' Christine replied, walking towards the boathouse. 'It's my Aunt Maj's cottage just outside Miami, about an hour or so from where I grew up. I designed this program just after I got back on the _Enterprise_ , to help me deal with the shit going on in my head from the PTSD. Coming here always gave me a sense of…I dunno, calm and balance, you know?'

'Certainly do, it's how I feel about my family's horse farm just outside Louisville. Whatever bad shit was going on, I could always take my horse for a ride into the fresh air and feel better about my problems,' Bones admitted, following Christine into the boathouse where he saw a five-by-five cubby-hole shelving unit full of swimwear, towels and other sundry beach items. 'Any of these up for grabs?'

'You betcha. Changing space is over there-' Christine pointed to two curtained booths at the end of the cubby rows '-and there's a shelf with oils and lotions depending on how much of a tan you feel like catching right now. You can stash your guitar there too, if you like.'

Grabbing her suit out of her own cubby, Christine ducked into the booth and stripped off as her heart rate began to even out. It had been a gamble to bring him here, as there was a very personal reason this was her happy place but she was fairly certain sharing that reason with him would be an even bigger mood killer than the weariness Bones was trying to currently leave behind.

Christine looked at herself approvingly in the mirror, gave her boobs and her ass a few adjustments, then wrapped herself in her beach-robe printed with pineapples and lobsters; when she reached the dock, towel in hand, she felt her knees go weak as she saw Bones standing by the edge of the dock in surf shorts. Hot damn, the man was a fucking god under those drab Star Fleet regulation outfits, Christine mused, forcing one foot to be steadily put in front of the other.

'Towel?'

Bones turned and his face split into a genuine grin as he saw Christine approach, passing him the towel. 'So can we just jump in or what?'

'Usually that's how it works to go swimming.'

Before Bones could decide which option to take, Christine was stripping off her robe, and he felt his brain go blank; she wasn't just a beautiful mind or face, she was a beautiful woman full stop. She had curves in spades, from her breasts amply showcased in a lime-green top very close in style to a regular bra, down the slight curve of her belly to her juicy bubble butt modestly covered in matching green bikini bottoms covered in neon pink, white, black and blue hourglasses. He noted there was a small tattoo of a lobster near where her right butt cheek turned into her very lush-yet-athletic thigh, no larger than an antique American quarter while on the left there was a starfish of the same size.

He was in the middle of rolling his tongue back up into his mouth when Christine sprinted down the dock and dove face first into the crystal-blue water. She bobbed up ten feet from the end of the pier, breasts floating in the buoyant salty water, and slicked her hands over her hair. 'Come on in,' she called to him, 'it's programmed for a balmy seventy-eighty Fahrenheit.'

'No sharks?'

'Of course not,' Christine reassured him, admiring the view of his well-sculpted torso, 'or else I wouldn't be in here right now.'

'Fair enough.'

Bones hadn't missed the gleam in her eye when she'd popped back to the surface and took his time sauntering down before plunging into the refreshing water; the salt wasn't too heavy which made him happy. He saw Christine's toes just a few feet from him so he pulled himself over to her in just a few quick strokes.

'Now what?'

'Now we float, and wait.'


	12. Lay By Me

_Hello lovely readers - hope you're enjoying my tale so far! This is one of the moments I'd envisioned from the very outset of composing this story...have fun!_

* * *

'Wait?'

Christine nodded, shifting to her back as she lifted her arms over her head so she looked like a ballerina tipped over sideways into the sea. 'Just close your eyes and let yourself drift until the magic happens.'

'That's it, that's your big solution?' Bones asked drily, but when he got no response, he just did as she did and floated on his back, eyes closed. The sensation of weightlessness was something that always scared him much in the same way flying did; he'd never enjoyed much going into water where he couldn't touch, just like he didn't like being in a flying tin-can where solid ground was an illusion. If he was going to be outdoorsy, he was going to be so while sitting astride his beloved Dutch warmblood Presley. It was hard to stay tense, though, he mused as he swirled his hands in the water when a man had a woman like Christine nearby. He chuckled as he felt the underwater ripples from her legs fluttering in the water and wondered if-

No, it wasn't Christine's kicks, he realized, as he felt what was certainly a tail glide past him beneath the glass water. Popping vertical once more, Bones felt his stomach clutch at the sight of a grey dorsal fin cresting towards him through the water.

'Thought you said there aren't any sharks in this program,' he hissed to Christine, who simply grinned and shifted herself into the path of the fin. 'Good god, darlin', are you nuts?'

'Nope,' she replied, and turning sideways, caught the fin of the animal and let it carry her all the way to the shallows with a whooping laugh.

Bones opened his mouth to say something, anything, but found himself bumped in the shoulder by what could only be described as a beak; he turned in a half circle and let out a surprised, self-admonishing chuckle.

He was face to face with a dolphin.

The creature was beautiful, sleek and powerful with an inexplicably friendly face. Bones had a sudden compulsion to make cooing noises and stroke its brow like a puppy. He saw the way it slid along side him, and Bones realized he was waiting for him to grab hold. Taking the dorsal fin lightly like a saddle pommel, Bones found himself suddenly ripping through the water towards shore like he was in an underwater space jump. The dolphin slowed as they reached the shallows, turned to head back out to where they'd gathered and met the humans. Bones let his feet touch down to find they were in five five of water less than a foot from the edge of the lawn, where Christine had already pulled herself out and was sitting waiting for him, a big fat _did I tell you or what_ grin on her lips.

'Can we do it again?' he asked her playfully, and Christine's only response was to hold out her hand which he took once up on the grass beside her; they sprinted down the dock still linked together and jumped in like kids, cannonball style, then swam out even further to meet their new friends.

After what seemed like ages of playing with the dolphins, Bones going so far as to name his new buddy Jojo, the herd swam out into the sunset which made Bones pout just a little when he and Christine headed down the dock.

'How come they took off?'

'It's programmed into the run-time in ratios, so we don't spend the whole time with our Flipper friends and get no time for us,' Christine explained, climbing onto the hammock of the catamaran. 'Now, we dry off, and just hang out.'

'That I can do.'

Christine bit her bottom lip, suddenly aware of how little clothing she had covering the essential bits as she shifted over ever so slightly to give Bones enough room to stretch out beside her. His bicep brushed against hers, and Christine felt her body betray her as her nipples threatened to perk up in response to his touch.

'Now what?' Bones asked.

'Now, we just do whatever you need to do. Just lay here, or talk, or both.'

'I have a question. How did you come up with such a nice little slice of paradise for a program? It feels more like a memory.'

'LIke I said, it's my Auntie Maj's place. I'd spend every waking moment I could here, after…'

'After what?' Bones inquired, then felt a little ashamed when he heard her

'After my older brother was killed.'

He reached out instinctively, finding her hand and squeezing tight. 'I'm so sorry, Christine, I didn't know. God, I feel like such an asshole now.'

'It's not something I like sharing, and call me crazy but talking about him doesn't feel like good first-date conversation,' she admitted on a little laugh. 'A dead sibling feels more like a second or third date kind of thing.'

'If you don't wanna talk about it yet, I won't push you.'

'Same goes for me about Joanna.'

'Aren't we a pair,' Bones laughed, shifting to his side and lifting their joined hands so they lay above Christine's head. He saw the look in her eyes, a jumble of nerves, excitement and just a trace of sadness - it was a look he'd seen in his own mirror that evening as he'd gotten ready for the reception and had taken every measure possible to make sure he looked professional, yet sexy for her. 'We're beachside at sunset, we've played with dolphins, we're both looking very hot and after dealing with the kids all day, we've earned a little downtime that doesn't involve all those other worries.'

'You still missing Joanna?'

'Yeah,' Bones admitted, 'but…'

'But what?'

'Well, right now in my life there's only room for two women in my heart.' He shook his head, feeling that hypnotic effect just like he'd experienced in the greenhouse as her looked into Christine's big blue eyes. 'Can't do anything about missing my daughter, but you…'

'Me?' Christine felt a sudden liquid rush in her go through her middle; he was close enough for her to see the flecks of gold in his eyes again. Only this time, there was no clumsy best friend around to kill the mood. 'What about me?'

'You…' Bones used his free hand to brush a damp rope of aged gold hair away from her brow, his mouth less than an inch from hers. 'With you, darlin', I can do this.'

Christine had only time to suck in a quick sharp breath as his lips touched hers, gently at first then with deeper passion as she began to kiss him back and his confidence grew. It felt as though shimmering blue waves were washing over her; his touch seemed to awaken every nerve in her body and make it come alive with excitement. She'd been right, he was an excellent kisser, she thought as the fingertips of one hand found his cheek; their hands that had been joined now shook loose to find more intimate purchase - her palm against his other cheek, his finding the back of her head to pull her even close. He shifted his body weight so they were chest to chest, legs left free; Bones traced the outline of her mouth with his tongue as his hand moved from her hair down the side of her arm to her hip where he pulled her tight against him, making her squeak a little in surprise.

'Too fast?' He managed to unglue his lips from hers long enough to see if he'd just made a rather huge error in judgment, the nanosecond-fleeting panic was replaced with a buttery-gold sensation of elation when he saw the delighted grin on her face, the dancing glee in her eyes as she shook her head. 'No?'

'No, I just…part of me can't believe we finally made it here,' Christine told him. 'No interruptions, no pressing obligations-'

'No being a chicken-shit,' Bones admitted on a laugh, 'at least for me.'

'Me neither.'

Neither had long to dwell on their past missed shots as Christine ran her hand up his bicep, over his shoulder to touch his face again and pull him in for another long, liquid kiss. _Finally_ , was all he could think, _finally, finally, I don't have to keep it to myself anymore_. He held her close as their lips stayed fused together, his tongue now finding hers as the sunset began to shift from pink to glowing orange. With one hand pressed into the middle of her back Bones rolled them so she was now on top, her hair falling against his temple in a golden curtain. He reach up, tucking it behind her ear and letting his head thump against the fabric of the catamaran's hammock.

'You feel so good, Christine,' he told her in a husky tone; gone was the swaggering bravado of his reputation, here he was the vulnerable man who saw himself as nothing but lucky to have this moment with the woman of his dreams. 'I've wanted this for ages.'

'Me too,' Christine admitted, tracing her fingertips over his chest, not at all to find his pulse racing under her hand. 'Your heart is pounding, just like mine.'

Bones stroked his hands up and down her back, the temptation to pop the hooks on her bikini strong, but his desire to have her naked first in his bed was stronger, as he inhaled deeply. 'You even smell like lemon pie right now.'

'I put on a little of my sunblock just in case, and it's one I brewed myself with my Pride and Joy,' Christine admitted, felt Bones' body tremble as he laughed. 'I can't help it, I like the smell of them and I know you're a fan of it too.'

'Not the lemons, just you.'

With that, Bones pulled her in for another mind-searing kiss, as the slow-burning need for her churned out red-hot molten desire for Christine and only Christine. A quick shift of his body weight had him moving so he could feel that gorgeously curved body that held her beautiful heart wrap around him once more.

'Leonard,' Christine sighed as he trailed a line of lingering open-mouthed kissed down the column of her throat and over her shoulder; it was making the liquid longing running wild through her veins suddenly pool between her thighs - and making it very hard to speak, too. 'Wait, you're gonna-'

But it was too late: in his enthusiastic haze to prolong the moment, Bones' movement on the hammock of the catamaran caused the boat to slip sideways, sending the entangled couple to the warm ocean with an unceremonious _splash_.

They surfaced, spluttering and howling with laughter as they wiped water from their eyes.

'Man, I just can't catch a break,' Bones huffed out in mock irritation.

'I tried to warn you,' Christine giggled, 'but we were both a little preoccupied.'

'You alright?'

'Yeah, but a kiss to make it better is always welcome.'

'Well then.'

Still bobbing in the water, Bones tugged Christine close as they floated and kissed her in a way that he could actually feel her tremble in his arms. 'You cold?'

'Only from the water,' she replied, then lifted her voice. 'Computer, time until program end?'

 _Program will end in thirteen minutes._

'So, why don't we head into the boathouse, get changed and…whose place should we go to?' Christine suggested. 'Unless I'm being presumptuous.'

'Mine's closer with a private entrance through the med-bay,' Bones reminded her. 'Is there a drying tube in the boathouse? Think it might be obvious if we're spotted with wet hair we were up to something on the holodeck.'

'If that's what you want, sure.'

'No, no, that's not what I meant,' Bones backtracked hastily, kissing her this time in reassurance. 'I'm not going to hide it-'

'Neither will I.'

'-But we don't need to live in a fishbowl, either.'

'Or a zoo,' Christine added, kissing him back and making Bones tap the tip of her nose.

'You got it, darlin'. Our relationship is our business to share when we want, not something we have to quantify to the rest of the crew. I did have a thought, though,' Bones added, frowning in contemplation.

'Yeah?'

'Are we just gonna put our dress clothes back on, because _that_ feels like it'd be obvious.'

'Thought of that too.' She shook her head, began to swim to shore. 'There's post-swim clothes in the cubbies of the boathouse. Tell you what, I'll race yo and the loser has to put out once home.'

Before Bones could so much as say 'you're on', Christine was already two body lengths from him with a single powerful underwater dolphin-style kick. But Bones hadn't come by his toned physique by accident and was able to catch up. 'Oh you're gonna get it tonight missy,' he teased her as they neared the shoreline. 'Maybe not the big _it_ , but definitely something.'

Christine gave a sultry laugh, leaned in to whisper, 'I'm counting on it, doctor.'

* * *

Somehow they managed to get themselves into the boathouse's drying tubes and into casual clothes without tearing them back off each other before making it to his quarters. They'd emerged from the holodeck to find the hallways mostly empty, and no one gave them a second glance, which made both doctor and nurse breathe a little easier; there was nothing worse than a new romance quelled by fear of getting the side-eye from other crew members.

The moment they'd secured themselves in Bones' quarters, they dropped their dress clothes along with Bones' guitar near the sofa and stood staring at each other for a moment.

'Now what?' Christine asked lightly, laughing in the way she did when she was nervous on a personal level.

'Now? Now we do whatever we feel like,' he replied, stepping closer to her and pulling her tight against him. He pressed his mouth lightly to hers, shuddered a little when he felt her lips give way and her tongue glide over his. Bones moaned low in his throat, his blood pumping harder as he ran his hands down her back to her hips to hold her tight against his body so she could feel everything she moved in him.

Christine sighed in pleasure at the slick feminine thrill sliding through her veins as she felt Bones' arousal against her; that she could make him feel that way was a heady, powerful thing. Shifting her thighs apart ever so slightly so she could move into him, she kissed her way along his jaw, murmuring, 'I feel like I should say something clever and sexy, but I can't think of anything at all.'

'Perfect,' he chuckled, and running his hands down her back, Bones squeezed her ass so he boosted her up enough to press his face against her breasts, inhaling that delicious sweet fragrance. 'Mmm, Christine?'

'Yeah?'

'You wanna stay out here or go to my room?'

'Room,' she replied without hesitation, 'but maybe we should wait on-'

'Oh, hey listen, darlin',' Bones chuckled, setting her back on her feet, 'I ain't doin' that on the first date so keep your pants on. Well, maybe not keep your pants on, but you know what I mean.'

'I do,' Christine smiled, walked her fingers up his chest. 'Hormones aside, you've probably got more space in there for two people than that couch-' she pointed over her shoulder to where their dress clothes were tossed in a tangled heap on the streamlined sofa '-though if pressed I could be very creative with such a tight space.'

He gave her a look as he took her hand and pulled her into his room. 'Do you do that on purpose, or do you just not realize it when you say things that sound so dirty?'

'A little of both, the magic is you trying to figure out when I know I'm doing it and when I can't help it.'

'Well, in the meantime, welcome to my humble abode.'


	13. Can't Stop

_Okay dear readers - this is where the story starts taking its M-rated turn ! Have fun!_

* * *

Bones pressed the panel on the wall, let the bedroom fill with gentle glowing light, and as Christine looked around at the space he felt as nervous as he'd ever been. It was the first time he'd had a woman in there for a romantic purpose since they'd begun their mission. Any time he'd hooked up with a lady friend - and those had been few and far between, given how picky he'd become since his divorce - it had always been either her place or a rented room.

Christine looked around, knowing he was holding his breath as she took in the space: it was to a certain extent formulaic in its layout, as were all officers' quarters but Bones had clearly made it his own with the paintings on the wall of smoky mountain views and the ornamental tree in the brass pot beside his bureau. On his bedside table was a framed holo-snap of Joanna in her school uniform along with his communicator and a bowl of wrapped lollipops in a rainbow of flavours. The bed itself looked comfy as hell, with navy blue linens edged with neon yellow that matched his pillow cases and a steel blue duvet.

'Key to good health is a decent night's sleep,' Bones said lightly, toeing off his shoes as Christine did the same. He suddenly felt like a virgin on prom night, about to be faced with his first ever real-live naked lady - but then his past experiences hadn't been with someone who meant to him what Christine did.

Fortunately, before his nerves could get the better of him, Bones had an idea. 'You feel like a game?'

'A game?' Intrigued, Christine sat on the edge of the bed. 'Like three-dee chess?'

'Like poker.'

'Oh that sounds like fun.'

Dipping into his bedside table, Bones produced a deck of cards; he sat down so they were both in the middle of his bed. 'I haven't played in a while so a handicap would be good.'

'How big?'

Christine felt her whole body go warm as Bones made a point of looking down at himself, then up and giving her a toothy grin. 'You want a number?'

'Cheeky.'

'You can see those for yourself, too, if you want.'

Christine tapped her chin in thought dramatically. 'I think that sounds like more fun than a game of poker.'

'Well then.'

Bones leaned forward and tugged on Christine's shirt to pull her in for a juicy kiss, keeping his touch light for now; he felt the silver shimmer down his spine as he combed his fingers through her hair, brushing his hands over her back. He felt her arch against him and used the sudden off-balance momentum to tumble them back against the pillows, letting his weight sink against hers. Bones let out a low groan as he felt Christine's body shift against his, her long leg hooking over his hip. He stroked his hands down her sides to find the hem of the shirt, kept his eyes on hers.

'Christine,' he murmured, dabbing her lips with his, 'if I do something you don't like, if it's too fast-'

She silenced him with a single tap of her finger against his bottom lip. 'Leonard, I promise I won't do something just because I think you want it from me.'

'Good. Now…where were we? Oh, yeah.'

Bones delicately took hold of her shirt, peeled it up and over her head and for a moment just let himself stare at the beauty of her body. Her stomach was delicately curved, a perfect subtle contrast to the gorgeous swells of her breasts that were perfectly showcased in a lacy green bra that matched the dress she'd worn to the reception. Bones ran his palm up her stomach, her skin silken under his touch, to the edge of the lace, then let his hand drop away.

'Leonard? What's wrong?'

Christine popped up, her weight resting on her elbows; she got her answer when he simply tugged off his own shirt and she actually licked her lips at the sight of his body. He was so gorgeous, it baffled her how he could ever think of himself as nothing but a dad; if she was a betting sort of woman, she'd lay down the farm Leonard McCoy was considered the yummy-daddy by many of Joanna's friends.

'Yum,' she breathed, making Bones feel like a god. He flashed a grin and leaned down once more, bracing his weight so he wouldn't crush her as he ranged himself over her. With a single flick of the wrist, he flipped open her bra clasp between her breasts and nudged the fabric gently aside.

'Soft,' he murmured, grazing his fingertips over the under curve, stroking his thumb over the rosy tip before planting a lingering kiss between her breasts, 'and tasty.'

Christine's head thumped lightly against the pillow. God, was this real? Was she really with him? Yes, it had to be real, because none of her fantasies of Bones had ever felt like this. Lifting her arms, she shimmied her bra loose from her body, letting her fingers trail over his chest as Bones' other hand now found its way to her breast, his thumbs stroking in tandem over her nipples. The move made neon fireworks burst in her brain, causing her back to arch first, then her hips against his. Christine pulled him in for a mind-searing kiss once more, drinking in as much of him as she could while he did the same.

When they broke apart for some fresh air, Bones turned and laid his ear against Christine's breasts, listening to the sound of her racing heart. 'This is definitely how I pictured the first time having you in my bed,' he mumbled happily, 'only neither of us were wearing bottoms. Just smiles and sheets.'

'Give it a few minutes,' Christine chuckled, tracing her fingertips over his strong shoulders. 'We'll get there.'

'Me first.'

With the speed of a magician, Bones popped up and peeled off his shorts so he was fully naked; when he saw Christine's wide-eyed stare, followed the path of her gaze to his junk, he grinned with alpha-male pride.

'Told ya you could see for yourself,' he reminded her; then his own brain went blank when Christine lifted her hips and shed her bottoms so she too was naked with him. He saw the blush trying to work its way up her neck into her cheeks, and Bones gave her a quick kiss. 'What's up?'

'I…I didn't think you'd see this much of me tonight, so I haven't had time to…you know, tidy up?' Christine motioned to the neatly groomed thatch of aged-gold curls between her thighs.

'No,' he shook his head, 'you look wonderful, darlin', really.'

'Right now, I just wanna…I wanna kiss you while I get used to this,' she admitted, and saw relief wash into Bones' face. 'I mean, it's not like I don't wanna, but it's been a while for me and none of them were you so-'

'No, I totally get it. I haven't had a real relationship in years, and I wanna don't wanna fuck this up. You…you're special to me, like, more than the other women I've been with in my life.'

Bones turned so they were laying face to face on their sides, his hand on her hip while her palm rested against his chest. 'I think it's best to just take it one step at a time.'

'Like when we had to extract those Hyperion burrowing slugs from Cupcake's arm?'

'God you're adorable,' he laughed, reaching over and grabbing the sheets then scooting closer to Christine so that no so much as a sliver of sunlight could pass between their bodies. 'Only you could make a medical procedure that stressful and complex sound like we're giving the new puppy a bath.'

Giggling, Christine yawned grandly and snuggled closer to him. 'Hope you don't mind if I be super girly and wanna snuggle tonight.'

'Not at all,' Bones admitted, then called for the computer to dim his lights to sleep mode; the room went nearly to full darkness with just enough light to see the outline of their bodies formed in his sheets. 'Christine?'

'Yeah?'

'This is the part I've been looking forward to since the greenhouse.'

He felt her hand flutter against his chest, her body shifting as she kept herself close to him. 'Really?'

'You, me, in bed together after a good time on the holodeck. We got to feel each other up, get each other naked. Once we're a little more used to the whole 'we get to do that now' thing, when we sleep over…' Bones turned and gave her one more kiss. 'There will be no sleep involved.'

* * *

The following morning, Bones was awoken out of his blissful sleep by the irritating incessant chirping of his communicator. He looked around, saw that he'd fallen asleep tight against Christine, his hand linked with hers; she'd tucked her arm up chicken-wing style in front of his chest so their joined hands rested between her breasts. As carefully as a man defusing a bomb, Bones slipped his hand from her grasp, reached blindly for his communicator.

'Commander, whaddaya want?' he mustered up as Christine shifted lightly, the sheets sliding over her skin as she turned to him in her sleep.

'Boned, I need an egg-sam.'

'Good god, Jim, you sound horrible.'

'I know, I know, I need sob help.'

'Well, you're scheduled for your six-month physical at fifteen-forty-five today.'

'And I have plans lay-der. I can'd led this ged worse.'

Bones sighed, looked at his clock; it was just past oh-seven-hundred, which meant he'd gotten about five hours of downtime by the time they'd settled into bed enough for sleep. 'Alright, give me…I dunno, an hour?'

'I may be dead by then.'

No other way to do it, Bones realized. 'Jim I'm not alone right now.'

He jerked his face away from the communicator as the loud bark of the captain's coughing came through the speaker, then realized it was his friend's phlegm-filled laugh.

'Seriously? She spend the night already? Wade, wade, no no no, dell me when I see you in thir-dee.'

'Ji- dammit!' Bones snapped with a little more force as the line went dead, then glanced down to see Christine hadn't flinched so much as an eyelash. 'Darlin', our noble captain needs me to give him some cough syrup so I'll be back in a few.'

He was met with a grand open-mouthed throaty gurgle while Christine nuzzled her cheek against the pillow; Bones just laughed and opted for a sonic shower so he wouldn't leave Kirk waiting too long.

He'd just secured his private entrance into his med-bay office when he saw Kirk stumble in straight to one of the exam beds and face-plant on top of it. Shaking his head, Bones turned up his sleeve-cuffs and brought out his diagnostic kit.

'You're making it way too tempting to shoot your ass full of Novocaine. Imagine trying to sit in the chair while your backside's numb as an iceberg,' he informed his friend, making Kirk crane his neck to peer over his shoulder.

'You're here awful quick. Whad, no starting the morning off with a bang?' he inquired, overemphasizing his g's thanks to the congestion.

'Didn't happen,' Bones replied, flicking on his tricorder and doing an initial scan while Kirk simply scowled.

'Thought'd you said she spend the night'd?'

'Didn't say nothing happened, just not the whole enchilada.' Bones thought of how they'd stripped down naked, just to get used to the idea they could do that and more now if they wanted. But he knew that his friend wouldn't be satisfied unless he made at least one dirty joke. 'Got her plenty wet though.'

'That's by boy.'

'Yeah, from the holodeck date. We were swimming with dolphins in Miami.' Bones turned away to fill two subcutaneous hyposprays filled with a combo of a sleep-aid and antihistamine; Kirk did not like needles in any form, he'd discovered so it was best to hide it well. 'Not to mention the other way too.'

'Congrats, you- ow! Fucg!'

'One of these days, you're going to realize how childish that phobia is.' Bones removed the injector from Kirk's neck where he'd planted the sneak-attack dose. 'My daughter deals with them better, and she's three months from turning thirteen.'

'I know, I know you'd rather be sticking Christine this morning.'

'Damn right I would,' he admitted, as he watched Kirk's eyes roll back and he was out like a light in seconds. 'Nothing's changed in all these years, I see. Oh come on!'

Bones disposed of the injector and the empty vial in the appropriate containers while he bellowed at the chirp-chirp of his communicator going off once more. He fished it from his pocket as Kirk began to drool copiously on the table, not to mention oozing from his nose in equal measure, and tried to keep his voice level. 'McCoy here.'

'Morning.'

'Hey.' His mood mellowed instantly when he heard Christine's voice. 'Didn't wanna wake you, but I got called in on an emergency appointment for the captain.'

'Oh, good, I didn't dream that. I was just going to say I'm showering and then heading back to my room for some fresh clothes before we start the first round of physical exams today.'

'That seems silly.'

'Well, as much as I know you enjoy the thought of me borrowing one of your pullovers, I think that would raise a few questions and eyebrows,' she laughed, warming Bones to the core.

'So how about when I see you tonight, you bring a few things over and stash them in my quarters, that way in the mornings we have more time for…fun stuff,' Bones suggested; he could all but see Christine's face lighting up.

'Sounds like a plan, only I was thinking we'd be at my place tonight,' she replied, 'I don't want it to be we're at your place or not at all.'

'Agreed. I gotta go, Kirk's starting to choke on his own snot and if he dies, Spock becomes captain, and I cannot fathom calling that green-blooded gargoyle 'sir', darlin'.'

'Understood. See you in a few.'

Bones returned to his patient, turned him on his stomach with his head off the bed to drain him into a basin, thinking of Christine using his shower and cursing his captain mentally for being sick at the most inconvenient time possible.

'Boned?'

'Yeah?'

Kirk lifted his head, his nose now a verifiable faucet of goo. 'Are you sure you didn't get laid last night?'

'Why?'

'Be-gause you're singing and I've only heard you do that when you get luggy.'

Bones frowned in concentration; had he been doing so? He shrugged, poking at Kirk's nose with a sampling wand so he could analyze his condition. 'Well, Christine means a great deal to me, so doesn't it stand to reason that even a little bit of something with her means more than full sex with some woman randomly met in a bar on shore leave?'

'Don't say things like that, my brain can't work that hard,' Kirk replied, spitting out clumpy masses of congealed phlegm as he devolved into barking chest-coughs. 'But you're right, any anything with someone you really care for always means more.'

'I'm going to give you a second dose,' Bones informed him, 'since it sounds like you have plans with a very specific name on your agenda today.'

'I really hade you ride now.'

'Quit being so whiny,' Bones said, jabbing his shoulder with the second pressure syringe and angling Kirk's head so he could continue to expel the nastiness in his system while passed out cold. Knowing his friend was out for the count, Bones decided there could be no harm in a little music if he had to be at work so early and flipped on the music channel he'd begun to enjoy because it reminded him of blueberry pancakes breakfast with Christine.


	14. Higher Ground

An hour later, Bones had the medical kits ready for the various crew physicals they were going to be performing over the next twelve to fourteen hours. Physicals-time was never fun for anyone but now for Bones it carried an extra layer of no-fun since it would cut into date night with Christine. Fortunately he wouldn't be the only one doing them this time around, as Picardo wasn't trapped on a satellite due to malfunctioning transporter motherboards which meant they could serve their customers three at a time.

He dragged a hand over his face as he uploaded the patient files into the medical PADDs, then saw a thermal cup of coffee slide towards him; it was pushed into view with a single finger well-manicured in sparkly blue.

'You're an angel,' he told her, glancing up with a smile, saw Christine and pretended to scowl when he saw she looked like she'd spent the morning in a spa, fresh as a daisy with a satisfied glint in her eye. 'So not fair.'

'What?'

'You look gorgeous and I'm feeling like warmed up horse-shit.'

Christine glanced around, wiggled her eyes brows and leaned in for a quick kiss on his mouth. 'How about now?'

'Now, I feel worse.'

'What!'

'Yeah, because that's all we get for the next twelve hours,' Bones pretended to pout, then changed his grin from thankful to devilish, 'but I'll make you a wager.'

'Oh?'

'At the end of shift tonight, if I've had more dirty thoughts than you, I owe you…' Bones looked her up and down. 'A full body massage after work tonight. To start.'

'And if I've been the naughty one?'

'You owe me the same.'

'So…' Christine moved around the desk to be closer to him. 'Either way, one of us gets to feel the other up?'

'You betcha.'

'It's a date.'

'Hey, not so fast, darlin'.' Bones caught her elbow as she turned to leave, pulled her in for one more quick kiss. 'Okay, I'm good for now. Thanks a million for the coffee.'

As Bones predicted, the moment was the last they had for themselves, for once oh-eight-hundred-thirty hit the crew members started filtering in, one after the other like a never ending parade of colour-coded shirts. He rarely stopped to think of just how many people it took to run the _Enterprise_ , but every six months Bones was reminded of it when it was time to do physicals. Two doctors along with four nurses at twenty minutes per patient gave Bones a headache trying to calculate just how long it would take; it didn't help either when Kirk came round from his semi-conscious fugue state long enough to be severely annoyed at learning he still had to complete his physical later that day.

With the drugged-up curses from the captain ringing in his ears, Bones went back into his private office to transfer the PADD data into his mainframe directly so he could just have a mild breather from listening to everyone's private business. He figured part of what made him so good at keeping his Hippocratic Oath was the fact that when he was in the room, he was invested in his patient's welfare but when they started droning on with the personal drama-drama, it just slid in one ear and out the other and was forgotten before the appointment was over.

'Doctor? Your next appointment is here.'

Bones looked up from his desk, screaming in his mind for the world to just fuck off for five more minutes but he nodded placidly at the nurse. 'Thanks Grace, show the patient into exam pod two.'

'You got it. Do you want anything from the mess hall? It's an all-Italian menu today.'

'I'm good for now, but thanks.'

Bones rose from his desk, headed through the waiting area where several ensigns were filling out the necessary forms to the exam-pod and pulled up short when he saw Uhura waiting for him. She was wearing the medical gown already and letting her long legs swing while sitting on the side of the exam bed; at the noise of his entrance, she turned and gave him a smug, knowing smile that threatened Bones' mood to go from semi-okay to downright shitty.

'Good morning, Doctor,' she said in overly polite tones as he sealed the door. 'How are we this morning?'

'Quite well, thank you Lieutenant,' Bones replied, scanning the data from her intake form. 'See here you've been feeling-'

'Jealous at being left out of all the fun details on you and my best friend,' Uhura cut across him with the honey-edge razor tone Bones was all too familiar with from his ex-wife; it never failed to send Bones' mood from semi-okay to downright shitty.. 'How come I had to be kept in the dark for so long? If anyone knows what it means to keep work and personal both mixed and separated, it's me.'

'Lieutenant, you understand I'm in my place of business aboard this ship, right? You and Spock don't make goo-goo eyes at each other across the bridge.' The thought of Spock making goo-goo eyes at anyone made Bones shudder involuntarily. 'God that's a creepy thought.'

Uhura rolled her eyes impatiently. 'Spock isn't as closed off as anyone thinks, and besides we do other things on the bridge too.'

'Lieutenant, my day is hard enough today without you adding that horrifying mental picture of you and your Vulcan boy-toy going at it up there.'

'Wow. Either you got laid really good last night or you are cranky about having to wait for it, or both,' she replied on a laugh, then narrowed her eyes to study his face as he shone his pen-light in her eyes, popped in the earbuds of his stethoscope. 'I'm betting on the second, since I know my best friend and she isn't the type to sleep with a guy on the first date. And that's not what I meant.'

'Thank god. Deep breath in, hold for five, then long exhale please.'

Uhura did as she was told, repeated it three more times as Bones moved the stethoscope head around her chest and back; she was a patient woman by nature, or else she wouldn't have lasted as long as she had with her lover. 'I mean we have our own little phrases that on the surface are just compliments but for us they have a deeper meaning for what we'd really like to say in the moment but can't.'

'Like what?'

'Well…when we first were more open about our relationship after the whole Nero thing, he would say _your work never fails to be impressive, Lieutenant_ when he really meant _your brains are making me hot_.'

Bones moved his fingers around so he could check under her jaw and along the throat for any signs of swollen glands. 'Thought Vulcans couldn't lie.'

'They can't, but Spock has learned to use the idea of implication in his language.' Uhura arched her eyebrow, then waited as she extended her tongue so Bones could examine her tonsils. 'Exhibit A, his recent little research project on you with Kirk.'

'When those two put their heads together, it's worse than gossipy old washerwomen at the back fence,' he groused, paging for a nurse to enter the exam room with him, then was torn between grinding his teeth in frustration and gratitude when Christine came in with a clear plastic protective cloak over her uniform that appeared to be splattered with a gooey unidentified substance. 'Kirk?'

'The captain is a disgusting fountain, and every time he sneezes he whines more.' She stripped off the plastic cover, tossed it in the biohazard disposal bin. 'I'm tempted to give him another knock-out dose just to shut him up a little while longer.'

'Right now, I need you to be my second eyes while I perform the remainder of the lieutenant's exam.'

Christine nodded, stood by Uhura's head as she slipped her arms out of her medical gown and let it drape at her waist. She lifted Uhura's right arm above her head, then the left, keeping her eyes on her friend's as Bones did the routine breast exam to check for any abnormalities.

'It's just not as much fun this way,' Uhura commented, 'now if we were on a beach somewhere, or maybe a fancy hotel like that new Atlantis place on the Vegas Four satellite-'

'If you two were doing that, I think Spock would be a little bit cranky at you both,' Christine teased while Uhura slid her gown back into place and Bones prepared the instruments to collect a sample for a pap-smear. 'Not to mention it'd be very hard not to justify drowning you at that beach, and I really don't wanna kill my best friend.'

'Well obviously I'm not gonna poach. I like my guy just as he is, green-blooded, very sweet and full of stamina.'

'And I like my sweet red-blooded grumpy guy from Kentucky,' Christine replied, beaming a smile as Bones sat on his rolling-foot stool near Uhura's feet. 'Right now, you're in for a treat.'

Uhura made a face as she propped her feet into the braces, unconsciously taking Christine's had as Bones lifted the tent formed by her knees and instructed her to inhale deeply, then exhale as he took the necessary swabs. 'You'd think after how many hundreds of years, all the advances in the medical field and women are still subjected to getting a Q-tip shoved up their hoo-ha just to determine their sexual health.'

'Be thankful you're not a guy getting a couple fingers up your keister for a prostate exam,' Bones informed her, and earned a withering stare from both his patient and his girlfriend. 'What?'

'You're a doctor, McCoy. You know how human or humanoid anatomy works, women are unfortunately accustomed to being invaded for medical reasons and pleasantly so for fun ones.' Uhura sat up, covered herself out of modesty for Christine more than herself, and pointed at her best friend. 'At least she gets dinner or a screen-viewing before you do that to her.'

To her utter delight, she saw both Christine and Bones pink in the cheeks while trying not to fidget in embarrassment. She offered a toothy grin, gathered her uniform for dressing while Bones beat a hasty exit to both drop off the necessary samples in the lab and to give Christine time with her friend.

'So, any plans for later?' she asked in a painfully sweet tone, making Christine's cheeks flood ruby red.

'Was that really necessary? Do I give you shit over Spock when you're both on the bridge?'

'Yes.'

'Okay, yeah, I do from time to time,' Christine admitted on a giggle, 'but you guys were already involved before you were senior officers on the _Enterprise_. We met here, big difference. I don't need a waiting room full of the crew to be speculating on us using the exam pods for our own private purposes.'

'Christine, why are you so squeamish about this?' Uhura inquired as she tugged on her dress. 'Are you worried about your job?'

'No, not at all, that part I'm okay with since Leonard and I are apparently used to keeping our personal feelings under wraps so it doesn't interfere with our posts on board the ship.'

'Then what?'

'It…' Christine shook her head. 'It's different with him.'

'Does he have a second penis or something and you don't know what to do with two at a time?'

The mental image of it had the tension breaking inside Christine and she laughed uproariously. 'No, it's…I haven't been with anyone since coming on board the ship, casual or serious. At first it was because I wanted time to get my confidence back in myself after everything. Then since last August, it's been more than I just wanna get laid or something, it's that I want him. All of him.'

'Now you have him and it scares you,' Uhura concluded, making her friend nod.

'I'm fucking terrified. He's divorced, he's a dad, he's-'

'Someone who makes you happier than I've ever seen you, doesn't that count for something?'

'Of course, it's the biggest thing, I just…I don't wanna lose it.'

'Why last August? What's so special about that?'

Christine chewed her lip; this part she'd never revealed to anyone, she hadn't even put it into her own old-fashioned paper-and-pen journal where she kept everything she didn't want to be archived into a mainframe somewhere. 'When we were home for a whole two weeks of shore-leave while the ship was undergoing its regular inspections and mechanical routines and everything, Bones invited me to go with him to the Grateful Dead Festival for Joanna's birthday.'

'See, I knew you guys had been on a date before last night,' Uhura started, then settled into barely contained silence when Christine gave her a pleading look.

'I was the only one interested in that kind of music, so I said sure, and while we were out for the day with Joanna, she kept making comments and hints that we sounded like a couple and that she'd be okay with it if we were.'

Uhura nodded understandingly; despite having met Bones' daughter only a handful of times she knew the girl wanted her father to have some happiness in his life beyond his job and his close friends.

'I'd never really thought of Leonard that way until Joanna brought it up, and then later in the day we ran into Chekov and Sulu. Joanna, being the bright gal she is, was happily teasing us about it the whole day and they ran with it too,' Christine went on, 'so by the time I went to bed that night I couldn't stop thinking of it, and then slow but surely what I feel for him…it turned into what you saw in the greenhouse.'

'I can see how that would be scary for you. Let me ask you this, when you guys got physical last night, how much happened?' As Christine gave her the essential details, Uhura just smiled giddily the way she did at anything romantic. 'Aww, he's nervous too.'

'Nervous? This is Bones we're talking about.'

'Exactly. He might be best friends with Mister Phlegm-Filled Ladies Man Jim Kirk, but Bones is a stand-up guy and he's not going to push things until he's ready.'

'He seemed pretty smooth about our first kiss last night,' Christine muttered; this time as she told her friend the story, Uhura wasn't grinning goofily but actually fanning herself before tugging her uniform undershorts up and over her stockings.

'Hot.'

'Seriously?'

'As someone who lives with a man whose entire romantic history is best described as a slow-burn at the best of times, I can assure you Chris, Bones is taking his time so he doesn't mess it up.' Uhura shrugged, then unsealed the door. 'In my experience, that's not a bad thing at all.'

The door whisked open, and Christine wasn't at all surprised to see her nearly bump into Bones on her way out. Uhura shot him a wink on her way out, and Christine gulped a little when he shut the door once more.

'You need something, Doctor?' she asked, hoping her voice didn't sound like she'd just swallowed a lungful of helium.

Bones nodded, gave her a quick kiss. 'I'm weak and easy,' he admitted, 'couldn't go much longer without you.'

'We're working, you know. Won't this break the rules?'

'You're not my patient, so no,' Bones told her, his mouth set in its usual stern lines that made Christine wanna jump him. 'When you do go and see Picardo?'

'At two, then I'm going for my lunch. Want me to bring you back something?'

'Yeah, Grace said it's an Italian menu today.'

'Which probably means a choice between spaghetti and meatballs or pizza.' Christine smiled as she labeled the samples from Uhura's exams for taking to the lab to be verified. 'Which also probably means given how popular those choices are on board this ship, that will spill into dinner so maybe once we are done here, we'll go to the holodeck for dinner for something different?'

'Nope.'

'No?'

'Nope,' Bones repeated, folding his arms over his chest and shaking his head. 'I'm not gonna make you do the heavy lifting of always asking me out on date night, so we'll have dinner at your place, but I'm cooking.'

'You're cooking?' Christine gave him a wary look. 'Are you sure that's such a wise idea, with the stove that has all those knobs and stuff? That's a lot of technology to handle, Doctor.'

'Don't sound so terrified, it's just transporters that get me twitchy.'

Bones gave her one more kiss, then headed back into the waiting room to find Spock was next in line. 'Amongst other things,' he muttered and prepared himself for the next round.


	15. Cry to Me

'You know, when you said help you get ready for your date with Christine, I figured there would be more advice on seduction etiquette or making sure you picked the right cologne, not being your kitchen stooge.'

'You're not a stooge, Jim. Those sandwiches almost ready?'

'You betcha, they're ready for that press-thing.'

'Perfect, pop them on and time them for three minutes.'

Kirk nodded, did as he wondering where in the hell the doctor had so much energy after nearly thirteen hours of performing medical exams. He frowned, shook his head as he watched Bones stir the plaintains simmering in hot oil. Power of love, he thought, could make a man do wild things, like preparing a nice dinner for his girlfriend who had to be equally exhausted after working alongside the doctor in the medical bay all day.

'So, what is this called again?'

'Cubano y tostones. She's from Miami, so I figured Cuban is probably the kind of comfort food she's used to.'

'It's a good angle.'

Bones rapped his spoon on the side of the frying pot with a sharp _thwack_. 'It's not an angle, Jim,' he said in a testy tone, making Kirk lift his eyebrows. 'I don't need to run a con on my girlfriend just to get her in bed. That's not what I want from her- I mean it is, but not only that. We've both had a long day, the next three are more of the same so we deserve a nice meal, preferably one that ends with us licking whipped cream off of various body parts for dessert.'

Kirk had to laugh; he knew the doctor had healthy appetites like any other heterosexual man in his prime, but the idea of perpetually cranky sardonic Bones licking whipped cream off a woman's anything and enjoying it was indeed rather perplexing. 'I'm sorry, I'm not laughing at you, really.'

'I've had a child, you know,' Bones reminded him, 'it's not like I've spent the last thirty years repelling women.'

'No, you've just missed it when they flirt with you because you've had your eye on Christine since…' Kirk trailed off as a thought struck him. 'Huh, I guess I don't know since.'

'Last July,' he muttered, making friend's knife clatter to the counter.

'Las- a _year_? You've had a thing for her for nearly a year and you're only now doing something about it?'

'I had to be sure. I wanted to be sure that it wasn't just because she's there all the time, or because I want a mom for Jo that I actually get along with.' Bones paused as he lifted the tostones from the pot onto the blotting paper to ensure they wouldn't go greasy. 'Turns out it's neither of those, I just like her very much.'

'Well then.' The timer went off on the sandwich press and Kirk lifted the lid, grinned as he pointed proudly to the perfectly golden cubanos. 'Think those will make her like you even more back?'

* * *

'It feels kinda silly.'

'Why?'

'I dunno, just feels like I'm tricking him or something.'

Uhura let out a little sigh, shook her head in frustration as she examined the contents of Christine's closet. 'Chris, it is not tricking Bones to put on something sexy underneath your date-night clothes.'

'I'd rather be comfortable and not feel dumb if nothing happens.'

'Wow, it has been a long time for you, huh?' It slipped out before Uhura could catch herself. She turned back to see Christine looking rather uncomfortable in her robe and set down the items she'd selected before turning to her friend's underwear drawer. 'I'm sorry, I didn't mean that like it sounded.'

'I know.'

'Bones is bringing dinner over, right? So you provide the dessert.'

'I have some ice cream in my cooler-unit.'

'Not what I meant.'

'I know that too,' Christine added, her stomach doing anxious jumping jacks as she pondered the choices Uhura had given her. 'Did I mention that I've had fantasies of him eating ice cream off of me?'

'That's more like it. Now all we need is…aha! Success!' Uhura glowed with triumph when she saw a veritable explosion of rainbow coloured lace and satin before her. She pawed through until she found a subtly feminine colour that met with her approval and gave a nod. 'Here, try these.'

Christine looked at the dusty rose satin bra overlaid with silvery-grey lace and the matching silver-lacy thong, nodded. 'This will work, it's- oh no, he's here!'

The chime of her door-alert sounded in her quarters, making Christine whip off her robe with the speed of a magician and hastily tug on her clothes while Uhura went to answer the door. She actually gave a happy little wiggle when she saw Bones, arms loaded with containers for dinner.

'When was the last time I opened a door today and didn't see you on the other side?' he teased her.

'She's just getting dressed.' Uhura winked at him, but it was barely noticed by Bones - as the lieutenant skipped out and secured the door for him, his imagination had already gone to the fun places he'd refused to let it travel during the work day. He looked around, only then remembering that as a junior grade Christine had a smaller living space than him but it felt completely her. There was an artificial palm tree in the corner strung with lights, and along the top of her entertainment console was a row of photos with two different young men. As both had the same rich blue eyes as Christine, Bones deduced these were her two brothers and found himself morbidly curious which one was gone. There was also artwork of home on the walls, much like his own quarters had, only instead of mountains and rivers, there were coastal sunsets.

'Those are photos from the deck at the cottage, the real one.'

Bones looked over his shoulder, smiled in reflex when he saw Christine; he smiled a lot more these days thanks to her. She once again looked all fresh and angelic in a thin banana-yellow tank-top and grey sweats that looked both comfy and sporty. She crossed to him, took the containers over to her modest table, then took his face in her hands and kissed him lightly.

'Hi you.'

'Hello you,' Bones replied, wrapping his arms around her waist as he dipped his head to kiss her in greeting. 'I've brought dinner.'

'And as there were no explosions reported, I can assumed it was a success?'

'You tell me. Where do you keep plates?'

'I've got two clean ones in the cupboard beneath the sink. Utensils there too.'

Bones found them, nearly whacked his head on the shelf when he heard Christine's sharp delighted gasp. 'What is it?'

'You made us cubano sandwiches and tostones? I haven't had this in ages! This is just perfect, oh, you do know your Miami girlfriend well.'

'Then please tell Kirk next time you see him that your Kentucky born boyfriend isn't working an angle by making that for you, it's-'

'Thoughtful and considerate,' Christine finished for him as she replicated them each a rum-and-coke, brought the glasses over to the table. 'So…how was your day, _dear_?'

'Just swell, _honey_ ,' Bones laughed sliding sandwiches and fried plantains onto their plates. 'Mine went pretty well. Keenser didn't try to bite me this time around, and Spock didn't tell me to fuck off in Vulcan either when I had to take a blood sample, so I consider it a good day. You gonna be okay drinking that?'

Christine nodded, bit into her sandwich and moaned. 'Oh god, this is amazing. So good, Leonard, I had no idea you were so talented in the kitchen.'

'After my wife kicked me out-'

'Why?'

Bones coughed a little as Christine sipped her rum and coke. 'Why?'

'Why did she kick you out?'

'I wasn't unfaithful, and I wasn't a drunk or abusive. She and I just shouldn't have been married for the sake of Joanna, plain and simple.' Bones shrugged. 'She didn't want the baby, I did, so we got married and had Jo and things were alright for a while, but then it just turned ugly. Biggest thing was I wasn't making enough money to suit her high-minded thinking-'

'Surely a doctor had to have a decent salary.'

'She wanted the big money, like the seven-figures money I should have instead of my family physician's private practice. I didn't wanna give up what I'd built there and because of that in her eyes I wasn't ambitious enough for her. It became so that Mel was just constantly demanding it be her way or the highway and I had enough so I filed for divorce and she changed the locks on me, then took pretty much everything I had so I started from scratch.'

'I'm so sorry.' Christine set her sandwich down and took his hand in hers, held it tight to reassure him she wasn't scared off. 'I'm guessing she also demanded full custody of Joanna?'

'Nope, she wanted joint custody, which we still technically have despite my position here. More importantly, it means I'm included on parental decisions like education, health-care, things like that.' Bones gave a little laugh. 'Jo emailed me earlier today, asked if the next time she sees me you can come for dinner with us.'

'Does she know that we're…us now?'

'Oh in her overheating pre-teen brain, we've been having a secret illicit affair since last August, and anytime I try to disabuse her of the notion, Jo won't have it. Naturally, she doesn't know what's gone on this week, so when I do tell her, trust me that you'll have no bigger cheerleader than her for us to go the distance.' Bones picked up her hand, kissed her knuckles gallantly. 'So that's my sad story, what about yours?'

'Well, I did say that that story was better for a second date.' Christine took another bite of her sandwich, washed it down with rum-and-coke. 'I saw you checking out my photos, of me and my brothers. There's two of them, both older. Patrick is the elder one, he was almost six when I was born, and then Tim's in between us at three years, but we were always close.'

'Same with me and my brother,' Bones agreed, not liking the sad light that creeped into her eyes. 'Was he sick?'

'Not exactly. Patrick, he had epilepsy which was strictly controlled through medication. All the medical advances and we've only scratched the surface of the human brain. Anyways, my grandparents, they're…old fashioned, I guess you're say and always thought of Patrick as their precious golden boy.'

'Family favourite?'

'In their eyes, yeah,' Christine agreed. 'He was the first born grandson, destined to take over the family oranges business. Ironically, Tim runs things now because he really wanted to and he has the talent for it, but Patrick…Patrick was actually in Starfleet.'

Bones felt the pieces start to shift into place. 'Your family didn't approve and he was killed on an away mission?'

'My parents thought it was great, my grandparents thought it was a betrayal of the entire family. This is my dad's parents we're talking about,' Christine clarified, eating more of her sandwich to compose herself before she got into the meat of the sad story. 'I'd just turned twenty-one, I was home on summer break from nursing school and Tim was about to graduate from business school. Patrick was home on a week's shore leave before returning to San Francisco where he was being promoted to first officer of the _Crichton_.'

'Something happened, though?'

Christine nodded, closed her eyes; that was all it took to send her back. 'Our grandparents were there, and going on and on about how dare my gold-digging little slut of a mother let him turn his back on their love. It was a variation on a familiar tune we'd all heard before, so we went to the beach. Me, Tim, Pat, Pat's best friend and the best friend's sister. We were playing football in the shallows, we'd done that a million times before only…'

'Christine, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to bring up something so painful,' Bones told her in genuine sympathy, but she shook her head.

'I brought up your divorce, that's pretty depressing.'

'It's one thing to drudge up reminders of that heinous bitch, it's another to open the door on a family tragedy. Think I win the dumb-ass prize this time around.'

That one had her laughing even as tears burned behind her eyes. 'True enough.'

'You were playing football,' he prompted her, rubbing his thumb in circles over the back of her hand as she continued the story.

'Something snapped in Pat's brain, and he started having a seizure, and before Tim and I could get to him he fell over into the water and hit his head on an underwater rock pile.' Christine shook her head as she tried to keep the weeping at bay. 'I was a certified lifeguard so I knew what to do for that type of emergency and we got him to the hospital. Our parents and grandparents met us there. I don't remember what they said but I remember being really embarrassed that I was in my swimsuit and Pat's t-shirt and flip-flops. The doctors ran a tonne of tests and…and when they came in with a diagnosis for us, they said that Pat had no functioning brain activity and that it was just the machines keeping him breathing.'

Bones let out the breath he didn't even realize he'd been holding in as he saw Christine's eyes lower along with her voice. 'That's…I'm so sorry, darlin'.'

'My grandmother went right into hysterical screaming, telling the doctor to fix him, that something had to be done,' she said quietly. 'The doctor went on that Pat's will said he wanted his body donated for organ transplant and scientific research, and my grandfather said that he wouldn't see his special boy strip-mined for spare parts.'

'Your brother was an adult, surely his wishes had to be respected,' Bones pointed out.

'Yeah, eventually they were, after my mother tried to stand her ground and said that Patrick was his own man with his own choices, and my grandmother slapped her, saying no snot-nosed cunt was going to stand in her way of seeing Patrick properly buried.'

'Good god. Come here.' Bones pulled firmly on her hand, moved so he could hold her close in a warm, supportive embrace. 'Is that why you joined Starfleet? Because of Patrick, or to spite your crazy folks?'

'Patrick,' Christine replied, squeezing her arms tight around Bones' body. 'He would tell me and Tim about it all the time and he told me that it would be a great career for me as a nurse, and the more I heard about it, the more I wanted to go and serve with him in Starfleet. Even when we were kids, we'd play that we were on away missions and our forts were our star-ships. We took turns being captain and gave our ships crazy names. Patrick had the _USS Starfish_ and Tim had the _USS Rock Lobster.'_

'Let me guess, yours was named after a plant? The _Maple Tree_? The _Cypress_?'

'The _USS Pineapple._ ' Christine giggled a little. 'I don't know why but to eight-year-old me that sounded so sophisticated and unique.'

'You are sophisticated and unique, so to my mind, it's a good choice.'

Now she tipped her face to his, kissed him lightly. 'Eventually, after all the fights and recriminations and drama was over, after Patrick's wishes were honoured and we held a memorial for him, I was determined more than ever to go into Starfleet because Pat really believed in me that I could do it. It's part of the reason I stayed after my medical probation was done, because I finally felt like I was in that place that made him proud of me.'

'I know that feeling. Every time I do something good here, I see the look on Jo's face when I tell her and she is so proud of me. Hey.' A thought struck Bones' mind, and he ran his hands down her sides, poked her in the flanks with his index fingers to where he knew she had tattoos on her hips. 'Is that what these mean?'

'Uh-huh.' Christine nodded. 'Tim and I, on the anniversary of losing Pat, we each got the starfish tattoos. Him on his arm-' she tapped the pulse-point of her right wrist '-and then, when I got into Starfleet Academy for doing my nursing masters and being placed, I got the lobster for my other brother. He was the one who kept encouraging me after Pat was gone to follow my dream. Now here I am.'

'Here you are,' Bones echoed, then used his thumbs to brush away gentle tears he was certain she didn't know were tumbling down her soft cheeks. 'Don't cry, darlin', I'm sure wherever he is, Pat loves you.'

'Thanks. Oh god.' Christine swiped the back of her hand over her face, gave a watery laugh. 'I know I haven't been involved with anyone in a while, but I pretty sure men don't think it's such a great thing to be crying your face off on date number two.'

'Men might not, but I don't mind.' Bones gave her another comforting kiss. 'On the other hand, it's kinda nice to get those deep dark things out in the open sooner so it doesn't bite you in the ass later, huh?'

'I agree one hundred percent.'

'So let's keep eating, and then maybe we'll have dessert?'

 _JOnDessert_. The word struck a chord in Christine, and she was suddenly away of the feel of her fancy date-night undies against her body. 'I have Cygnusian strawberry ice cream.'

'I've heard that stuff is almost as good as Georgia peach.'

'Maybe, to lighten the mood a little, we might watch something on screen in my room once we're done with dinner?' Christine suggested, and almost instantly the melancholy pull of talking about Patrick was gone in the look Bones gave her, replaced with straight-up lust. 'How do you do that?'

'Do what?'

'Get me all hot and bothered with just one look.'

'Funny, I could ask you the same thing.'

'Really?'

Bones nodded, then pointed at her. 'See right there,' he told her as his blood pumped a little harder as she gave him that considering approving look that felt like she was reading his mind. 'Right now, you're doing that thing I've never seen any woman do except you.'

'Feels a little odd to be so flirty after sharing something so heavy.'

'Well, in the olden days, they used to give children lollipops after getting their immunization injections if they didn't cry,' he told her, making Christine giggle as they sat back down to finish eating.

'I cried.'

'Barely. But my sweets stash is in my quarters.'

'There's still that ice cream.'

'That'll work,' Bones decided. 'So tell me more about this family business of oranges.'


	16. Naughty Girl

_Okay dear readers, followers and reviewers! This is one of the scenes that earned this story its M-rating...NSFW !_

* * *

The rough waters of confessing deep secrets smoothed over, the rest of the meal was spent talking about more did-you-know topics. Bones learned that Christine was allergic to bees, that her family owned Chapel's Fruit Farms and sold their produce to one of the largest beverage companies in the United States, and that until the age of seven her brother Tim's speech impediment made him call her Kitten. Christine meanwhile learned that Bones had a younger brother who was a secondary school teacher who specialized in biology, that his fear of dying in flying things came from a near-miss as a child and that he did not believe in destroying perfectly decent pizza by messing it up with pineapple or olives.

'A good thing to remember when it's my turn to make food on date night,' Christine told him, polishing off the last of her tostones. 'Though if you're used to eating so well as that, you might be disappointed by my lack of skills.'

'I could teach you.'

Christine felt the zip in her belly once more and shook her head playfully. 'That'd be fun. But it's not like I don't know a few tricks myself.'

'Are we still talking about food?' Bones inquired, and when Christine just winked as she rose to take away the plates, he rolled his tongue over his teeth. 'You sly little minx. Or is it kitten?'

'Sure, if you're my brother.'

'Definitely not your brother,' he replied hastily, rising at first to help her but then he decided to hang back and just watch her. She stood flamingo style in her bare feet, and Bones could see her sassy blue manicure that matched her fingernails winking under the lights of her minute kitchen. When she bent over to tuck the cleaned dishes back into their storage space, Bones let out a lusty sigh of appreciation when the angle gave him a perfect view of her cleavage neatly on display in the scoop-neck of her tank-top.

Crossing over to her, he tugged on her hand to pull her upright, then wrapped his arms around her to pull her in for a brain-melting kiss. 'Christine,' he moaned lowly, dotting her neck with kisses, 'you're so beautiful, darlin'.'

'Mmm, you're pretty gorgeous yourself,' she sighed, pulling him close to her and feeling her body respond to the scent of him, the taste of his surprisingly soft lips against her skin. Her blood began to race in her veins, and that was just from a kiss; her hips pressed against his, and Christine felt his hands move from the small of her back down to her ass where he held tight to keep her hard against him as his own arousal began to build.

'Chris.' Bones slipped his hand beneath her shirt hem, felt the shudder of her body against his touch as he stroked his palm up her belly and cupped her breast against his palm. 'You wanna-'

'I think my bed might be more comfy than the kitchen floor right now,' she told him, giving him that look with those blue eyes that made Bones go to jelly. 'Unless you wanna explain tile prints on your ass during your physical tomorrow.'

'Not really, no,' Bones chuckled, then felt Christine's slender capable hand fit into his and lead him from the small kitchen into her bedroom. Like his, she'd added her own personal touches - the watercolour of her aunt's cottage as seen from the water, the sea-shells and pressed flowers in glass-covered photo-boxes, the sea-foam green linens printed with the outlines of ocean birds in rich amethyst purple.

Christine called for the lights at fifteen percent, then turned back to him; her breath was coming in deep heaving gulps now - part of it nerves, part of it anticipation. She saw the way Bones' gaze had tracked downwards which only served to boost her feminine ego; Christine had always known one of her best physical features was her thirty-eight double-D size breasts and was very glad that Bones appeared to be a boob-guy.

With her gaze never leaving his, she started to peel her shirt over her head, but found his hand covering hers.

'What?'

'Let me,' he said in a way that had Christine's nerves dissolving at how sweet he sounded.

As she nodded, Bones moved in closer and took the edge of the her shirt, drew it up and over her head; his eyes popped in appreciation at the silver-and-rose lingerie beneath.

'Just for me?' he asked her, and Christine nodded again. He took her hand, kissed the tips of her fingers. 'It's perfect.'

She pressed her hand against his chest, felt the thunderclap of his heart and realized Uhura had been right about her observation that afternoon. She shook her head as Bones came in for another kiss. 'Not yet.'

'Oh?'

'Now let me.'

Bones kissed her, felt her fingers slip down to the edge of his shirt and leaned back only a little so she could peel it off of him. He exhaled slowly as he stood stripped to the waist with her, loving the way the pink tip of her tongue peeked out at the corner of her mouth. Bones knew he was no musclebound beach hunk but he took pride in caring for his body and the look in Christine's eyes made every gruelling, sweaty second worth it.

He trembled a little when her delicate fingers ran up over his abs, over his pecs until she reached his shoulders.

'So gorgeous,' she murmured, pressing her lips at the base of his throat, then stiffened the tip of her tongue to run slowly it up the side of his throat.

Bones thought he knees might buckle at the sensation; his head lolled forward as she continued to plant her kisses over his shoulders and chest. Turning his head so he was inhaling the delicious lemon-pie scent of her hair Bones tugged at her bra straps, nipping at her shoulders as he did. The lightning firing in his brain from the feeling she stirred in him had his blood screaming through his veins and concentrating below his belt as his hands fumbled only a moment behind her back before releasing the clasp of the lingerie. He felt Christine shudder against him as he slid the straps down her arms and the bra fell to the floor between them; the feeling of her hardened nipples against his skin made Bones groan lightly.

'Hold onto me, Chris,' he told her, and when she'd locked her arms around his shoulders, he cupped his hands on her ass and boosted her up, carried her the five feet to the bed where he tumbled them both onto her dove-soft linens. Her legs had shifted so that her knees now bracketed his hips, her arms stretched above her head as her hair formed a golden halo around her face.

'I could just eat you up right now,' he said, and the husky timbre in his voice had her shivering in excitement.

'Sounds like fun,' Christine replied, then waited as Bones rose only for a moment to strip off his pants so he was left in the form-fitting undershorts that were regulation beneath his uniform and left absolutely nothing to her x-rated imagination. 'My prize stallion.'

'Why thank you, darlin'.' He walked his fingers up her stomach, then traced a single finger tip up between the valley of her breasts before following the path with his mouth. When he reached the under curve of her breast, he let his lips linger there before giving her a smouldering look. 'My sexy mermaid.'

Christine wanted to ask where in the hell he got such an idea from, but all thought was wiped from her brain as his mouth closed over her breast, his tongue rolling smoothly over its heated tip. She let out a strangled cry, one hand finding the back of his head and the other gripping tightly onto his shoulder. God, his mouth was magic; if she'd thought he was merely a good kisser, she'd grossly underestimated just how talented those lips were indeed. Then her system got a second jolt as she felt his hand gently close over her other breast, his thumb stroking her left nipple in perfect timing as his tongue laved at her right. Her hips bucked wildly against his; the need to feel his body so intimately against hers was growing stronger by the second as her head thrashed wildly from side to side.

'Oh God, Leonard.' Christine moaned his name loudly, her whole body coming alive with desire and need for him she hadn't realized ran so deeply. She licked her lips, cried out when hand and mouth switched places and she heard his muted sigh of enjoyment. 'Oh god…feels so good, so…good…'

Bones' lips curved against her skin, and he flicked a glance upwards; Christine's face had gone soft as melting candle wax, her eyes heavy with lustful need for him. His own heart was pounding like a kettle drum against his ribs even as the thin fabric of his undershorts began to feel too constraining. His pressed his hips against hers, heard her excited gasp at the feel of his arousal between her thighs and felt his ego swell in joy when he felt too the warm slick welcome there.

With as much smoothness as he could muster - the last thing Bones wanted right now was to be awkward with Christine - he kept his face pressed lightly between her breasts as he stroked his hands down her sides, over her hips before kissing his way down her middle, past her belly button.

'Christine, you want-'

'Yes,' she cut him off, her head bobbing impatiently, 'yes, but you too.'

Bones planted a kiss low on her belly, drew down her pants and grinned when he saw the flimsy silky lacy thong. He had no idea why the idea that she'd co-ordinated her tops and bottoms just for him amused him so, but the amusement was replaced by liquid lust running neon red through his veins when he watched her hands run down her body and her fingertips disappeared a millimetre beneath the edge of the lace. He tugged the small strip of fabric down her legs, watched her delicately flick her foot so the underwear ended up on the floor near her sweats.

'Do that again,' he murmured, swallowing tightly, and Christine felt a slick feminine thrill as she moved her hand down between her thighs, letting her fingers glide back and forth in slow even strokes.

'Like this?'

'Jesus, Chris, I think I might black out,' he murmured back, utterly mesmerized by her openness at touching herself not just for her own enjoyment but for his viewing pleasure as well. Bones twisted to his side so he was laying beside her as they'd done on the holodeck, and gently touched her cheek as he kissed her, then quick as lightening moved his hand down and nudged her fingers aside.

Christine let out a little sob as she felt those strong steady fingers explored this most intimate part of her body; when she felt the slight pressure of his middle finger slipping inside her, she cried out his name as she dug her fingernails into his shoulder.

'Oh god, oh god, oh…oh, god more, Leonard,' she moaned in his ear, then hissed out a breath as she felt a second finger join the first. 'Yes!'

'Christine.' Bones could hardly remember his own name when the sound of her voice, so breathy and full of need for him and only him, filled his very soul. 'Just…just hold on a moment.'

'If you stop, I may have to kill you,' she told him, feeling his hand slide away, then realizing he was simply peeling off his shorts so he was naked along with her.

'Much better.'

'Oh yeah,' she agreed, turning towards him so she could stroke him lightly; the super-surge to the ego he'd felt at hearing her moan for him was mirrored in Christine when she heard him hiss out a breath between his teeth as her touch on his ever-growing erection. 'Mm, you like that, babe?'

'Fuck yeah,' he managed to get out through gritted teeth. He kept his mouth close to her temple to keep the intimacy of the moment. 'I wanna…I…'

'Yeah?'

'I wanna see you come for me first.'

The words hit Christine like a freight train; no man she'd ever been with had been so vocal about pleasing her in bed. Eyes glazing over, she let her hand fall away from his body as his returned to her, and she inhaled deeply when the lights began to burst in her skull once more. She wasn't even really aware that he'd rolled them so she was looking up at him once more until she felt his mouth move down her body, his hand still stroking back and forth, then-

'God! Leonard!'

Bones forced the chuckle back into his throat as Christine screamed his name when he dipped his tongue over the juncture of her thighs and found her trigger. He lapped at her, tasting the salted-honey of her lust-slicked flesh. His fingers swiftly slipped out and were replaced by his tongue, his arms wrapping around her thighs as he feasted on her body. He felt the touch of her hand on his head as he slowed his movements, then sped them up just to keep her guessing what would come next.

Christine thought she was going to pass out; she wasn't sure she could handle much more tonight - how could one man make her feel so much so fast? Her hips rocked in an instinctual rhythm, like she couldn't get enough of his mouth on her body, as the delicious friction built and built inside her until she was certain she would burst from it.

'Leonard…I'm so close, so close, I'm…I'm…oh!'

'Say it, Chris.' Bones lifted his head, lips glistening from feasting on her honeypot, saw the way she was clutching at her breasts, her hair. Reaching up, he took one of her hands in his and placed them on her trembling belly. 'I wanna hear you say it for me.'

'I'm…I'm…oh, god, I'm coming!'

The words escaped her in a flooding rush as the orgasm swept through her body like a summer's storm. Christine gripped his hand tight as wave after wave of blinding sensation swamped over her. Her words were gone - she'd been reduced to vowels only as she all but screamed out the unnamable pleasure she felt.

When she found herself adrift in the afterglow, Christine got her second surprise - she was sated, no question, but she wasn't mellowed and lethargic from delight; rather she was charged by it. She'd had her fun, and now it was his turn. Pulling him in for a juicy, molten kiss, Christine flipped them so it was now Bones laying on his back as she slithered down his body to give his member all her attention.

'Oh god, Chris.'

It was the only coherent thought Bones had as he felt those luscious lips glide up and down the hardened length of him, her tongue dipping and swirling over his head until he felt the light nip of her lips before they opened to take him in. He reached down to tangle his fingers in her hair, let out a little laugh as her fingers found his just has he'd done with her. 'Don't stop, darlin',' he sighed, 'god, you're so good…feels so good, don't…don't stop.'

'Never,' she murmured, taking as much of him into her mouth as she could. She slid the stiffened tip of her tongue down his length, in an echo of a move she'd used earlier, pausing to suckle briefly at his jewels, then back up to take him in once more.

Bones let out a moan, his hips arching skyward as he felt the shift in his core; he knew he wouldn't last much longer but neither did he want to embarrass Christine as the orgasm emptied out of him.

'Chris, I'm so…so close, right there…right…oh god, Chris, yes…yes…I'm gonna…god!'

Bones felt his eyes slam shut as the orgasm exploded through him, making him shake from head to toe as he emptied himself; fleetingly he thought of pulling out of his girlfriend's mouth but he felt her hand squeeze his tightly as his body erupted and she drank him down until the trembling had subsided. Certain he'd seen paradise, Bones shook their joined hands loose so he could pull her up for a quick kiss.

'Christine, that was…' Bones trailed off as he held her close while he tried to force the air back into his lungs. 'That was just sensational, darlin'.'

'Right back at you,' she agreed, her palm flat against his chest. 'Not a bad way to spend date number two.'

'Think we better prepare ourselves though.'

'Oh?' Christine turned her head, curious as to what he could mean. 'Well, I had Picardo renew my birth control if that's what you mean, so-'

'No,' Bones chuckled, tracing his fingertips lightly over her smooth back, 'I mean if that's what it's like when we're fooling around, what's it gonna be like when we fully have sex?'

'Oh, we'll be dead,' Christine replied matter of factly, 'but we'll both go with a smile on our faces. And we still haven't had dessert yet.'

'Funny, I thought this was dessert.'

 _Okay, Uhura, you were right_ , she thought and gave Bones a considering look. 'There's still strawberry ice cream in my cold-storage.'

'That's perfect.'

'I don't know if I have any clean bowls.' Christine started to get up and fetch her robe, found Bones' broad palm keeping her pressed tight against him. 'What?'

'Maybe we let it melt a little, then just lick it off each other.'

Unbelievable, she thought, giving him a kiss as he grinned mischievously, that he suggest just for fun one of her favourite fantasies about him and not even realize it.

'In that case,' Christine gave him one more lingering kiss before she jumped up to fetch the carton, 'we'll just need one spoon.'


	17. It's Oh So Quiet

The next four days became a blur of activity and sensation for the newly minted lovers, as they hurried to get the whole of the crew's physical exams before shore leave. No exam, no shore leave was the policy of the captain, and while the crew as a whole agreed it made sense to prevent the spreading of pathogens, it was a terrible frustration for the medical staff that all of a sudden they'd be burdened with their busiest time of year right before their fun days.

When they weren't poking and prodding at their fellow Starfleet staff, Bones and Christine spent as much of their off-time as they could poking and prodding at each other. If one of them managed to stand still long enough, the cheerful grins were impossible to mistake even by a blind man; on shift they tried to tone it down as best as they could but it was a losing race, as word began to trickle through the decks of the _Enterprise_ that the handsome doctor and the pretty nurse were an item. To both of their surprise, not a single person seemed to be surprised by the fact, rather they seemed to have an attitude of _finally they did something about it_ which pleased Bones and Christine to no end.

For one crew member, though, the level of euphoria they exhibited was still cause for concern.

'Captain, are you quite certain his behaviour is normal? It does not seem logical for them to constantly exhibit such heightened emotions.'

Kirk, freshly healed from his cold, shook his head as he stood on line in the mess hall with Spock as they examined the various lunch offerings. 'Spock, think of when you and Lieutenant Uhura first started dating, didn't you feel happy all the time? Wait, I forgot who I'm talking to.'

'No, you did not,' Spock countered, 'for when Nyota and I began to add an intimate element to our social engagements, I often found my thoughts being drawn to her when we were apart and feeling a strong desire to be with her, not to simply copulate but to share her presence on a companionship and intellectual level.'

'Morning gents, what can I get you?' Kinney beamed at them, gestured to the offerings. 'We have chicken parmigiana, penne with Klaavian sun-roasted tomato pesto, or Bakulian shrimp alfredo. If you don't want meat you can leave off the shrimp.'

'The penne for myself will be acceptable,' Spock replied.

'Make it two,' Kirk added, then did a double take when he felt the presence of another body behind him. 'Hey, Bones, didn't think I'd see you here.'

'Grabbing lunch for the medical crew,' he replied, drumming his fingers rhythmically on his thighs as Kinney sent one of his assistants off to fetch the prepped to-go boxes. 'Twenty six more to go between Picardo and myself, then done. I have earned my shore leave and I intend to use it.'

'Is that your oblique human way of saying that you have yet to Christine your token, Doctor?' Spock inquired, remembering the conversation from their gentlemen-only evening, earning a smothered snicker from Kirk and a baffled look from Bones.

'My token?'

'I believe the captain made reference to giving Christine a item to demonstrate your affection. Have you given it to her or are you waiting for a significant moment in the relationship?'

'Never heard it called that before,' Kirk muttered as he chose a slice of toasted Italian bread to go with his pasta and tried to keep his cheeky smirk to a minimum. 'How about it, Bones?'

'Children,' Bones pretended to fume - nothing was getting to him today since they would be done the exams before twenty-one hundred and he and Christine would actually have time for a real date-night; it would be their first since their trip to the holodeck. 'Not everything in a relationship is about animal desires, no matter how fun it is to indulge them.'

'That's a no,' Kirk replied, chuckling when Bones rolled his eyes. 'What are you waiting for, Christmas?'

'Her birthday, which is in a few days,' Bones corrected him as Kinney returned with two thermal satchels containing lunch for the medical staff, then rolled his eyes as Kirk gave him a goofy look like an overbearing geeky parent. 'Dammit man, I'm allowed to be romantic, aren't I? Think I've earned it.'

'Indeed you have.'

'Have you selected a secondary item to present Nurse Chapel for the anniversary of her birth?' Spock's angular eyebrows drew together in a concentrated V above his eyes. 'Or is the relationship at such a stage where offering such a gift would be considered, to borrow Nyota's phrase, overkill?'

'Nope, already know what it's going to be and no-' Bones helped up a single finger to silence Kirk before he could so much as open his mouth '-it isn't my junk. Well, not only.'

'One should hope so, Doctor, as my relationship with Nyota has taught me that a gift made of refuse would not be considered a compliment by a human woman.'

Bones left the mess hall with Kirk's peel of laughter at Spock's literal interpretation ringing in his ears, returned to medical where he distributed all but two of the containers; the move worked perfectly and brought Christine into his office where he winked at her and nudged one of the chairs out from the edge of the comm-centre desk.

'Oh, feed me,' she sighed, digging into her shrimp alfredo while he crammed in penne. 'I'm amazed I can eat this after dealing with Scotty and his comments on Keenser's worm issues.'

'Keenser has worms? Wait, no don't say anymore, I want you to be able to eat string pasta without gagging.'

'Thank you.' Christine cracked open the fizzing juice he'd set on the table for her. 'Man, it's gonna be so nice to be on shore leave and actually go to a real restaurant.'

'Or a home cooked meal.'

'Where are you gonna do that?'

Bones swallowed his mouthful of pasta, washed it down with the Coke Classic Kenney had put in for him. 'It just so happens I have family on the Tantalus satellite,' he began and as he told her the plan, he saw her eyes light up more and more at the idea of their own mini getaway after such a slogging week leading up to their shore leave. 'But the best part-'

'How can there be more than getting to sleep in an actual home for three nights?'

'We can spend your birthday there.'

Bones watched her face go soft and sweet in excitement; it wasn't unlike the look she got in her eyes when she was about to jump on him. 'You, me, dinner on the patio in the pretend fresh air under the stars, just us. No holodeck fantasies, no snack-breaks catered by the mess hall. A real and proper get away with a full furnished apartment at our disposal, with a market to buy stuff I can cook in the kitchen, maybe even a birthday cake.'

'You keep talking like that, and these patients are gonna get a very x-rated matinee,' she teased him.

'You'll have to tell me what you want for dinner, and if there's any kind of cake you like,' he went on, then gulped down a hasty drink when he saw his PADD blinking with a video message alert from the last person Bones expected to hear from just now. He took the call and furrowed his brow as he did the math. 'Jo? Sweetheart, what are you doing calling me now? Aren't you supposed to be at school?'

'It's the start of spring break, Dad,' Jo replied, beaming at him and making Bones' heart ache for his girl. 'I had to call and tell you that I'm going off-planet with my friend Kate's family for the week.'

'Off-planet? Mom is letting you go off-planet for spring break? You're twelve.'

Joanna rolled her bottle green eyes in playful annoyance. 'Jeez, Dad, cool your jets already. I'm not going to Vegas Four for cheap liquor and boy hunting-'

'Not if you wanna keep breathing natural air, young lady.'

'It's my friend Kate's family, they're going on vacation and they invited me to go with them so I wouldn't be stuck going to Nana's while Mom spends my week off with her boyfriend.'

Bones fought not to seethe; he considered it a point of pride to try his utmost never to badmouth Melanie in front of Joanna, though in the last year it had become harder and harder. Joanna was growing up and beginning to take note of her mother's truly selfish personality. If he knew Melanie, the woman had planned her own plans first and then fit Joanna in around it.

'Anyways, I wanted to call and tell you so…hey, turn me!'

'Turn you?'

'Yeah, turn me, I wanna see who you're having lunch with!'

'What makes you-'

'Dad I can see another box on your desk and an arm. I wanna see who it is!'

Obliging her, Bones turned his propped up PADD and started when he heard Joanna's short, shrill squeal of joy.

'Christine! Hi Christine!'

'Hey Jo, you're getting ready to party for spring break, huh?' Christine asked, knowing it would help turn Bones' very real anger to amused frustration. 'Got your bikini all packed?'

'Uh huh, and I'm taking this with me too.' Joanna vanished from the frame for only a moment, then returned with the tie-dyed tee-shirt from the music festival they'd all gone to the previous summer; it was oversized on purpose so Joanna could justify buying it as a beach cover. 'No one else I know has one since my friends have sucky taste in music. Thanks for the latest video too, Dad! I didn't know you liked Bruno Mars!'

Bones slide his gaze over to Christine briefly, back to Joanna. 'It's a new addition in my playlist.'

'Cool. Well I better go, I know you're busy up there. Where is there, anyways?'

'We are almost at the Tantalus system, heading for the Starfleet satellite for four whole days.'

'Oh no. Christine, whatever you do, don't let him touch any buttons or else the whole place might blow!' Joanna teased her father, then batted her lashes at him. 'So happy you have someone to look after you.'

'Thought you were leaving, smart girl,' Bones teased her, then told her he loved her which she said back to him and he ended the call. A moment later, he turned to Christine with a look of deep gratitude. 'Thank you.'

'For what, being nice to your kid?'

'For helping me not blow my stack over Mel's shitty parenting of late in front of my daughter.'

'You think she's being neglected?'

'Nope, not at all, but Mel is the type of person who wouldn't see it as a big deal to allow a twelve year old to go off planet without even consulting the child's father first when said father has a legal right to know despite the split-up.'

'Ah.' Christine nodded. 'Sounds like the stunts my grandparents tried to pull with my mother. They couldn't stand the fact my dad married for something as ridiculous as love and affection and compatibility, so they tried to push my mother out.'

'Did it work?'

'Not a chance.'

Bones shrugged his shoulders. 'There you go. I love my daughter and I ain't about to let that bitch push me around just because I've done what I had to do to provide her with-'

The beginnings of his tirade were cut off when Christine leaned in and gave him a quick kiss. 'Leonard, you are a good dad,' she reminded him, patted his hand before returning to her lunch. 'Maybe you could send her a vacation video from Tantalus, or one of those old-fashioned posted cards that are back in style.'

'I was thinking I'd get her something to ship home so it's waiting when she gets back, that I'd…'

'That you'd what?' Christine prompted him as he shifted uncomfortably in his chair.

'That I'd get it when I picked up your birthday gift.'

'Oh, you don't have to do that, we've been together less than a week,' she laughed, then lowered her voice, 'we haven't even had sex yet.'

'Chris.' Bones picked up her fingers, played with them a little. 'I want to, and I'm stubborn as an old mule when it comes to giving people I care about gifts so you don't get to brush this one off.'

'Alright then.'

'What, just like that, no dancing around the point even for form's sake?'

'Why waste time?' Christine shrugged, then gave him one of those glances that made Bones feel like she was undressing him with her eyes. 'Especially when all that energy can be put to better use?'

He opened his mouth to agree, then let out a short annoyed huff when Grace stuck her head in the door and informed them both that the next patients were here. 'Once more unto the breach?'

'Yep.'

'Then you're coming over tonight.'

'Nope, it's my turn, we were at your place two nights in a row and then we spent last night apart,' Christine reminded him, tossing the to-go container into the recycler. 'My turn now. And don't bother going home after shift, you can just come up with me.'

'Why, you planning to use me for your own base needs, Nurse Chapel?' Bones inquired in his teasing flirty tone that sent happy little shivers down Christine's spine and through the rest of her body.

'Amongst other things.'


	18. Love Sex Magic

The part of his brain that fantasized about just what those other things might be was the only thing that kept Bones from losing his shit entirely in the last few hours of the scheduled exams. Between having to diagnose a few jilted lovers with STIs, an engineering ensign convinced his testicles were shrinking from radiation exposure, three cases of food poisoning and a returned Kirk for his final booster to shake the last of his cold, only the thought of getting to have time for an actual date night with Christine was keeping him going without biting anyone's head clean off.

He stepped out of the final exam, reminding the mess hall ensign to lay of the raw Delta Colony chicken eggs, then saw Christine at the intake desk as she transferred the last of the patient data into the mainframe. Because they were alone, he walked up behind her, setting the PADD on the desk and wrapping his arms around her waist.

'Shh, you hear that?' he whispered, and Christine moved her eyes from side to side as she strained to identify the noise.

'What? I don't hear anything.'

'Precisely.' Bones turned her in his arms, leaving his hands locked together at the small of her back. 'Nothing. No more patients to see today, no more scans or intake charts, no more gland-checking, blood drawing, temperature taking or asking fellow crew members when was the last time they got laid so I know what to check their junk for.'

'When was the last time?'

'Excuse me?'

Christine felt the heat creep into her cheeks; she hadn't intended to ask such a blunt question, especially in the med bay, but the words were out before she could stop herself. Clearing her throat, she lowered her eyes to regain some of her confidence. 'I… I'm sorry, that was rude of me.'

'No it's okay, it just…I wasn't expecting you to be so upfront about it,' Bones admitted, trying to gather his own nerve; he sincerely doubted she'd be impressed with his answer. 'Truth is, it's been since Jim's birthday…of last year.'

'Really?' Sincerely astounded, Christine tilted her head to one side as she tried to process the info while still wrapped in his embrace. 'Why?'

'Well first off I've always thought sex is better when you actually like the person and it's not someone you just met. Then we were back out on the mission…' Bones trailed off, tried to think of how best to phrase it without sounding too mushy or too creepy. 'Once we started getting closer, it felt like even the idea of being with another woman was a betrayal to you.'

'Leonard.' Sincerely touched for reasons she couldn't fully explain, Christine smiled warmly at him. 'I don't know what to say, except maybe if it makes you feel better, I haven't been with anyone since about that time either.'

Now it was Bones turn to be intrigued. 'You're serious?'

'Mm-hmm. At first it was me prioritizing my mental health and stability. I didn't wanna drag anyone else into my mess when I needed to feel better for myself first and foremost. Then, after you and I started spending more time together, I didn't want to be with anyone else. Plain and simple.'

Now Bones leaned down and pulled her in for a sweet, swift kiss. 'I definitely want to hear more about this, but not here in medical. I've got fresh clothes in my bag and a desperate need for a real shower. I've been biting the bullet and using that radiation chamber in the mornings and at night the last four days so-'

His words were cut off when she simply put her finger to his lips and took one of his hands in hers, tugged him into his office to uncode the door so he could retrieve his belongings. A short trip on the turbo-lift later, they were back at Christine's where she went to her cold storage and took out what Bones recognized as a bottle of Tyrollean chardonnay, along with two short glasses.

'Sure you'll be okay with that?' he asked her, sitting down on the sofa and taking off his boots.

'Uh-huh, it's only hard liquor that makes me wobbly,' she replied, bringing their drinks over. 'Rum doesn't count. I grew up in Miami, everyone drinks that shit down there.'

'Note to self.' Bones tapped the glass to hers, drank. 'So…when did you realize I was the only stud horse you wanted to bet on at the derby?'

'It wasn't one sudden realization moment, it was just getting to know you as a friend, then…hell.' Christine took a brace gulp of her wine, blinked as she felt the rush in her brain. 'Once I started spending more and more time with you, I started…dreaming about you, like the kind of stuff we've started doing in the last few days.'

'Really.' It was a nice stroke to his ego, almost as nice as feeling her hands on his body, Bones thought, and gave the end of her French braid a little tug. 'Was I good?'

'Oh yeah, but in person is way better. And I believe I called you a stallion,' she added, giving him a light poke in the chest.

'Well, if it makes you feel any better,' Bones replied, echoing her words to him, 'I've lost count of how many times before we got together that when I…took matters into my own hands I fantasized it was your hands on me.'

'Hot.'

'Really?'

'Yeah, I mean I did that too.'

Bones nearly choked on the sip of wine he'd taken. 'Hot,' he told her back, making them both laugh, 'but it's not just about that for me. I like you, I like spending time with you because you make me laugh and I feel better around you.'

'Leonard, that's so sweet.' Draining her glass, Christine rose and held out her hand. 'Come on.'

'Where are we going now? I sometimes feel a little like Alice following the white rabbit around with you.'

'And here I thought I was the pretty blonde.'

'You are,' Bones reassured her, then realized she was living up to the promise of the real shower in her quarters. He waited until she'd set the water temp and was shimmying out of her uniform before he stripped down himself and joined her under the hot water. 'Now this is much better.'

Christine tipped her head back and laughed, letting the water sluice over her face and down her shoulders. It was a first, she realized; she'd never had a boyfriend shower with her, even to save time in the morning. Something else Bones had given her that was just theirs. She wrapped her arms around his middle, holding tight.

'Just felt like doing that,' she told him with a guilty little smile, then found her face framed by his hands and being pulled in for a tender kiss that was light at first, then deepened into something far more passionate. Christine sighed as her hands moved up his body to his shoulders while his moved downwards to her hips to pull her close. 'Mmm, that feels good too.'

'Bet your sweet ass it does,' Bones murmured as he nipped at her jaw, relishing the soft texture of her skin, then reaching past her, grabbed the bottle off the shelf behind her with a photo of lemons labeled _P &J._ He squeezed a small golden puddle into his palm and nearly plunked it on his head when she grabbed his wrist. 'What?'

'That's for the body, not your hair.'

'I see. Turn around.'

Christine gulped a little at the look in his eyes - she'd seen the same one in the greenhouse just a short week before - but did as he requested, then felt that unnamable sensation rise up inside her as he began to massage her shoulders, the fragrance of the candy-like lemons filling the shower tube. Her head rolled forward as she revelled in the feel of those strong working man's hands on her tense muscles she hadn't even realized were so knotted up.

'Feels nice, Leonard,' she sighed, felt the pressure work down her back then back up. 'You're very good at that. Don't remember the one after we got back from Moravia being this fun.'

'That's because I was a spineless yellow-belly with no courage,' he replied, then slid his hands around to her front, over her belly and up to cup her breasts against his palms; Bones felt her shudder, pressed a kissed to her head. 'Otherwise, I'd have made a move on you back then.'

'I like your moves now.' Christine let her head thump back against his chest, her hands covering his as touched her with such tenderness it was hard to believe it was the same man who had a rep for being the grumpiest bastard on the _Enterprise_. When his thumbs casually brushed over her nipples, he felt her shudder against him once more, let one hand slip down her body to brush between her thighs. 'Especially that one.'

'Yeah?'

Christine could only nod; his hands were magnificent, making every nerve come alive under her skin. How did he have such a talent for knowing just where to touch her to make her totally unravel? She gripped his arm still wrapped around her middle tightly as her legs began to feel unsteady while he played his fingers over her slick flesh, back and forth, in and out and all around.

'Hold onto me, darlin',' he murmured in her ear in a rasp voice; Bones could hardly think straight as the sounds of her pleasured whimpers ricocheted off the tiled walls. He slipped his fingers inside her once more, slowly drew them out, then back in once more in a slow rhythm. When he felt her clench around him, her moans of his name become fractured and hitching, his thumb found her trigger and shot her over the edge into oblivion.

'Leonard!'

Christine called out his name only once, for it was all she could manage as she was certain her brain had been melted. Between the steam of the water and the steam surely rising off her heated body no way would she ever have any thinking powers again. When she found herself adrift on the afterglow of the mind-clearing orgasm, Christine absently picked up the hand that he'd used on her and kissed the palm, the wrist, his fingertips.

'These hands,' she murmured, then touched her lips to Bones'. 'So good, babe, so good. Now your turn.'

Picking up the bottle from her shelf once more, Christine nudged at her boyfriend until he turned around and she was rubbing the lemon soap into his skin; she loved the feel of his strong back, his broad shoulders under her hands. When Bones let out a little yelp, she drew back sharply. 'What, what did I do?'

'Nothing, just, ah, I'm a ticklish sort,' he admitted, 'and you hit the funny spot.'

'Got it.'

Switching tactics, Christine moved her hands around his body so she could press her palms to his toned belly, then walked her fingers south and traced her fingertips lightly over his thigh. She heard him hiss out his breath between his teeth and planting a soft, lingering kiss on his shoulder closed her hands around his ever-growing erection and began to work him slowly.

Bones let out the gutteral sound from somewhere deep inside - he'd dreamed of this very moment for the better part of a year, always sending himself into the corner of his brain where it was in fact Christine touching him so intimately. The reality of her, the sensation of her wet naked breasts pressing into his back, her lips against his skin as her hand sent wave after glorious wave through him, was a million times better than any fantasy, potent as they were. As the delicious friction built in his core, the synapses firing in his brain on overdrive, Bones had a fleeting moment of disappointment that he couldn't look into her eyes, stay locked in with her in such a moment; it was gone as quickly as it came and he twisted around, gently tugging her bicep so she was tucked into the crook of his body.

'There, now I can see you,' he murmured, leaning in to kiss her and nearly biting down on her lip in surprise as she swirled the pad of her thumb over his few remaining threads of control he had slid greasily from his mental grasp and he choked out her name once before he began to spill himself as the orgasm rocked him to the core. Bones had to brace his hand on the wall so he didn't collapse in a heap and take Christine with him; finally, when he was drained and certain he'd seen God as a result of her touch on his body, Bones moved Christine so he could see her eyes square on.

'Magical,' he told her, kissing her fully, deeply, 'simply magical, Christine.'

'Think we both won that derby,' she replied, then snickered at how corny she sounded; to her surprise he joined in with her.

'It was a photo finish, no question. Where's the shampoo?'

'Huh?'

'Don't get me wrong, not knocking the fun times at all,' Bones added with a wink that made Christine giddy all over again, 'but I would like to get cleaned up, maybe we skip the mess hall and replicate something, hit up the holodeck for some swimming or surfing. It'd be nice to fit in a workout before we're on vacation for four days.'

'Tell you what.' Christine handed him the shampoo after portioning out what she needed. 'We crash tonight, nice healthy dinner and maybe some screen, and I'll let you get me up at whatever ridiculous hour you want to go for a workout in the fitness centre, and you can wake me up in whatever manner you choose.'

Now Bones gave her a kiss that was equal parts gratitude, intrigue and anticipation. 'I'm holding you to that promise.'


	19. Up We Go

True to her word, the following morning - the first official day of shore leave - by oh-six-hundred, Christine let him wake her up at the crack of too-fucking-early-hundred as she phrased it with nothing more than a few steaming kisses in strategic places on her body. In doing so, Bones learned a few more important things about his girlfriend - she was not a morning person by nature, her preferred poison of choice in the gym was to sweat herself senseless on an endurance run, and most importantly, even in the banal setting of a workout Bones couldn't keep his eyes off of her. The determination on her face to reach her goal was yet another side of Christine he was impressed by, the way she mouthed along with the words of her chosen music only adding to the uniqueness of her personality. Bones had to actively force himself to concentrate on the task at hand, a rarity when he went to the gym - but then, he'd never had a workout partner who was such a welcome distraction.

Sixty minutes post-workout, they were each in their respective quarters, freshly shower and packing what they would need for shore leave while ensuring all the little details were taken care of in medical bay. By oh-nine hundred, Christine was making the final checks to her luggage and ensure she had her Starfleet ID for reloading on the shuttle when there was a knock at her door; confused, as she'd promised to meet Bones at the loading gate she went to the door with a satisfied smirk.

'You just couldn't stay a…way. Sir, what can I do for you? Is something the matter?'

'Not at all, Nurse Chapel.' Spock kept one hand by his side as he clutched the handles of his shore-leave trolley with the other. 'I was hoping to speak with you before you boarded the shuttle with your companion and your thoughts became preoccupied with the upcoming festivities taking place.'

'Oh, uh, okay.' Thrown off a little bit, Christine turned back to grab her rolling-foot suitcase and tote bag, then after one final scan of the room she secured the door to her quarters and fell into step beside the Vulcan commander. 'Was there a problem with any of the exams we did? Something serious we missed?'

'On the contrary, I wanted to commend you and the medical team for your efficiency. I also wished to speak with you about your personal relationship with the doctor.'

Christine felt her heart drop through the floor all the way to Engineering; she'd been so preoccupied with how great it felt to have Bones as more than just a friend or colleague she'd completely thrown caution to the wind over how her career would be affected by their inability to keep their feelings in check. Of course it was the Vulcan who'd seen right through all of it, and naturally he'd-

'Nurse Chapel?'

'Huh?'

Christine blinked herself out of her sudden panic, saw Spock was about five metres ahead of her - she'd stopped dead in her tracks out of pure fear and was now forced to trot swiftly to catch up with his long strides. 'Apologies, Commander. What…what was it you wanted to speak to me about Bo- about Doctor McCoy?'

'Rest assured that I am not seeking to cite regulation and insist your personal relationship end, I was merely going to inquire if you and Doctor McCoy would be interested in accompanying Lieutenant Uhura and myself to a symphonic performance while we are on shore leave.' Spock angled his head in the way that Christine had learned was his manner of conveying a relaxed attitude. 'I understand the doctor enjoys music a great deal, as do I, and Nyota has suggested we use the extended shore leave as an opportunity to engage another pair-bond socially. In addition to the reasons previous listed, Nyota has informed me that you and she are BBFs, thereby making yourself and Doctor McCoy a logical choice.'

'I think you mean BFFs,' Christine giggled as they stepped into the turbo-lift, Spock giving the command for the required level. 'But that does sound fun. When is the concert scheduled for?'

'The evening prior to the anniversary of your birth.'

'The twenty-fourth. Yeah, I think that would work,' Christine considered, then because it was a Vulcan she was talking to, she gave a firm nod. 'I shall confirm the plans with Bones, and inform you of our agreed upon decision. Or I can speak to Uhura, if you'd prefer.'

'I'll leave it to your good judgment.'

The turbo lift whisked open, and Christine was thankful she'd arrived early so she'd be able to get a decent seat; when she boarded, she shook her head. Somehow Bones had been her there, as she saw him seated in a middle non-window section while chatting with Chekov and Sayuri who were in the two seats across the aisle from him. For a moment, Christine just let herself watch him, the way he was so cheerful and animated in the conversation, and couldn't decide if it was from their morning workout, their impending four days off or a combination of the two. _Probably both_ , she told herself, then felt her belly flutter when he caught sight of her and she saw that slow sexy grin cross his face. She politely elbowed her way past the other crew members, saw he'd saved her a seat to his right and had to chuckle when she moved close enough to see he'd palmed a small flask.

'Little early for that, isn't it Doctor?'

'Hey, there you are, was starting to wonder if you'd make the first one out.' Bones winked at her as she stowed her luggage in the overhead bin, took her hand once she sat beside him. 'And no it's not, because the alternative is you see a grown man on the verge of wetting himself in pure terror.'

'I don't understand how it is you can be on board a star-ship when you are so afraid of things that fly,' Sayuri inquired, her words musical and lilting in her Japanese accent.

'I sink ze doctor has only ze fear of crashing,' Chekov determined, 'not of ze ship itself. Ve all have fears sat make no sense to ozzers.'

'Sometimes they do, though,' Christine countered, 'I'm cautious around bees since if I am stung I go into anaphylactic shock. But it's not like I'm giving up eating honey just because of that.'

'If man were meant to go whizzing around in the air, we'd have been a species evolved with wings,' Bones pointed out, taking a quick nip from his flask as they announced the final boarding call for the first round of shuttle departure. 'God have mercy on us all.'

'I sincerely hope Joanna didn't inherit your fear of flying,' Christine told him, hoping to distract him as his fingers sank knuckle deep into the arm-rests of his shuttle seat. 'Is that why you were okay with me going on those rides with her at the music festival?'

'You know it, darlin',' he muttered as his breakfast threatened to rise northward. 'You and Joanna got to have a few girls-only moments which I know are becoming harder for her since she and Mel don't have much in common as people, and Jo didn't have to see dear ol' Dad vomit his brains out from being on those damned wicked contraptions.'

'Roller coasters are perfectly safe.'

'Which is just even more confusing. Why do you wanna feel like you're falling out of the sky for fun?'

'I don't sink you vill vin dis von, Nurse Chapel,' Chekov laughed, 'ze doctor is wary determined to-'

'Jesus leaping Christ,' Bones interrupted as the shuttle began to move suddenly and they saw the stars outside rushing past. He began to fervently pray under his breath, his eyes all but nailed shut even as he felt Christine's fingers squeeze his wrist comfortingly. 'Darlin', save sexing me up for later. Talk to me about anything to get my mind off the next fifteen minutes.'

'Spock wants us to double date with him and Nina on the twenty-fourth.'

'Chris, I'm trying to avoid shitting myself here.'

'I'm serious,' she laughed, 'that's why I was late getting here, he said something about having tickets to the symphony and Nyota put the bug in his ear about the four of us going together.'

'No comment.' Bones shook his head with his eyes still clenched. 'I do not want to be held accountable for anything I agree to while under duress so ask me again once we land.'

'Mmm…' Christine racked her brain for something to calm his agitation. 'I bet Mel didn't plan to tell you ever about letting Jo go on vacation.'

'That rancid bitch.' Bones' terror subsided momentarily as it was replaced by a hot flood of anger. 'You know what I think?'

'What's that?'

'That Joanna couldn't handle the fact that Mel probably said who cares about your father, he's a moron who ran away from you because he doesn't care about either of us.'

'Joanna knows you didn't do that, babe,' Christine reminded him in a soothing voice, not liking the ashy hue of his face; she really had underestimated his phobia of flying though maybe she'd touched on a bad subject. Her own fears that she'd really drilled for the nerve were allayed when his fingers, now two knuckles deep into the armrest, gave hers a quick squeeze before he returned them to their place of security.

'I know, I know she loves me, she sends me vids and emails of stuff all the time about what's going on in her life.'

'And you send her music videos-'

'I send her music I play for her,' Bones corrected her, and Christine's heart turned into a puddle.

'You make videos of you playing your guitar for her?'

He nodded, the timbre of Christine's voice making the tense anxious bands around his chest ease their grip. 'She tells me songs she wants to hear, I find the music for it and I play for her. I used to sing to her every night, right up until Mel kicked me out.'

'That is so sweet.'

'I think I'll take your advice, send her one of those hologram post-card things home.'

Christine smiled, then thought of when she'd found him in his quarters with his guitar the night of the reception. 'Is that what you were doing when we went to the holodeck? Making a video for Jo?'

'No, just practicing. It was a new song.' Bones tried to breathe deeply, but it was a no-go. 'You know, I named my daughter after my favourite singer, Joanna Branson. When she was born, Mel and I couldn't agree on a name for her and when I held her in my arms for the first time she couldn't stop crying and crying, so I sang her _Princess Bitch Came to Play_ as a lullaby and she settled right down.'

'See? You're connected right from day one.' Christine paused a moment in thought. 'I hope you cleaned up the lyrics for a newborn.'

'Naturally.'

'Hey, look, we're slowing down.'

'What?' Now Bones' eyes flew open and he whipped his head around to try and see out the window. 'Why?'

'Because we're about to dock.'

He closed his eyes once more, held his breath until he felt the gentle bump that meant their vessel had made contact with the aero-moorings, then let it out in a shaky stream. His shoulders slumped as the stressed-out energy left him, and a thin layer of embarrassed guilt washed over him. Bones was man enough to admit his aviophobia was one of the few things that he'd never outgrown from his childhood, along with his love for grilled cheese sandwiches and his distrust of mechanical things he didn't understand. But he hated, absolutely hated with a bone-deep loathing how being in things that flew around in space made him feel like that child all over again.

When he felt the gentle pat-pat of a handkerchief on his forehead, Bones' retracted his eyelids once more to see Christine's sympathetic expression as she dabbed at his brow with a square of cloth.

'The sweat was popping out all over your face like bubbles,' she murmured, folding the square and tucking it back in her tote. 'Pat always told me he thought it was an old-fashioned thing to carry a hankie but it came in handy more than once in his away-mission bag.'

'Smart man.'

'Come on.' Christine's face moved from patience to excitement. 'Think of it, four whole days off the ship.'

'Yeah, trading one mechanical wonder for another,' he groused, unbuckling his safety harness and rising to flex his stiff legs; the sourness of his mood that he had to endure such torture moments before the bliss of four whole days that were all for himself. 'Tell me about this double date? Something about a concert?'

'Going to the symphony is his idea of a fun time, apparently.' Christine grabbed her bag, waited while Bones retrieved his and linked hands with him as they made their way off the shuttle, down the loading tunnel. 'I think it'd be fun, don't you?'

'How could it possibly be fun?'

'Three reasons. One, you're a big fan of music and not just that twangy country crap that was so popular in Kentucky for the last how many centuries. Two, you'll get a chance to spar with Spock which always puts you in a good mood.'

'And three?'

Now it was Christine's turn to send him a saucy wink. 'It means we get to wear fancy clothes. Me in a slinky dress just for you, you wearing a tuxedo just for me, and when things get too starchy or boring we can each imagine what the other's wearing underneath.'

'Thought that's what the whole neofeminist movement was for, so women didn't have to put up with shit like that.'

'Babe, it's one thing to be harassed by leering jerks at work, it's another when your boyfriend wants to see you naked.' Christine paused. 'For the record, I never felt like you were being unprofessional in the med bay.'

'I hope so, I did my very best to keep my feelings to myself and was terrified you'd have found out and been creeped out your boss was being a pervert.'

'You're not a pervert for having a crush. Now trying to grope me, coercing me, threatening to report me if I didn't give you want you wanted, you'd have been square in the heart of Pervert-Ville.'

'I'd rather be the boyfriend who undresses you mentally in public before doing it for real in private,' Bones replied, giving her a quick kiss, then breathed deeply as they left the tunnel and were on solid ground once more. He tilted his face upwards, let out a little laugh. 'Oh yeah, that's much better.'

'Leonard-'

'I know, I know it's not really a planet like Earth but it's close enough and-'

'Leonard!'

The urgency in Christine's hiss of his name had him turning his face to hers, which had gone slack with utter shock. 'Darlin', what is it?'

'Not what. Who.'

She lifted a finger to discreetly point across the atrium and Bones followed the direction - and very nearly did wet himself this time. His jaw fell open as he spotted her, a jaunty Star-Fleet replica hat on her head and a sign in her hands that read _Doctor McCoy_.

'Joanna?'


	20. Cheerleader

'Daddy!'

Bones barely had time to register the presence of his daughter in front of him before he was dropping his bag along with Christine's hand and wrapping his arms around her slender youthful body in a tight bear-hug as he whirled her once, twice. 'Jo, what…what are you doing here, sweetheart?'

'I told you, I'm on vacation!' Joanna's bottle green eyes danced merrily, kissed her father's cheeks. 'I just left out the part where I learned it would overlap with your shore leave.'

'Oh, baby girl, I…' Bones pulled her back in for another hug, his heart a swirling mess of emotions. He couldn't believe he was getting to see his beautiful child in the flesh; he wanted nothing more than to spend every last waking second with her. But then there was the other woman in his life standing beside him in just as much shock as him. 'God, Jo, I…I don't know what to say.'

'It's okay, Daddy.' Joanna held on tight to her father, sniffed at him. 'You smell like pie.'

'New soap.'

'Smells girly.'

'Well I do have a new girl,' Bones replied, held out his hand toward Christine who stepped closer; when he saw Joanna's eyes pop wide with joy, he tried to shush her. 'Jo, baby girl, please, don't-'

'EEEEEEEEEE!'

'Do that,' Bones finished as anyone within a ten metre radius stopped a moment and stared. He clucked his tongue as Joanna actually jumped up and down on the spot, throwing her arms around Christine.

'Oh I knew it, I knew it, I just knew it!' She wiggled so that Christine looked like she was having a seizure. 'When did it happen? Tell me as much as you can without being gross! Oh Daddy, I'm so happy for you!'

'Well, guess that settles the question of how do we tell my daughter,' Bones chuckled as she grabbed their luggage, began to tug it despite not knowing which way to go. 'And the question of will she approve.'

'Very much so,' Christine agreed, then grabbed her bag back from the eager young lady to keep her grounded. 'Joanna, sunshine, where are you headed?'

'That way, towards Kate's parents!'

She pointed in the direction from which she'd flown and both Bones and Christine could see a Cygnusian couple about Bones' age standing with a girl around three years older than Joanna, all beaming proudly. Following the ecstatic young lady, Bones put the pieces together and realized not only was this the friend's family Joanna was vacationing with, but that he also knew them from the handful of times he'd been at the school for parent nights.

'Doctor, please forgive us.' The woman, whom Bones remembered was named Gabriella, gave the three of them a sheepish look as her pale violet skin deepened in embarrassed colour. 'We didn't realize until Joanna told us yesterday that you'd be here at the same time and she insisted we all come and surprise you.'

'Perhaps we can make it up to you by taking you to dinner this evening?' Kate, Joanna's friend offered a hopeful smile.

'Oh, I'm sure the McCoys would all prefer to have Christine's birthday dinner just the three of them tonight,' Gabriella told her daughter, adding, 'There's a lovely Vegas Four-style steakhouse, perfect for a romantic or family dinner.'

'That sounds so fun, Dad, can we go?' Joanna turned her green eyes, big as saucers and full of adoring hope, towards her father who was powerless against such a welcome happy surprise.

'Sure, why not?'

'Yea!' Joanna clapped gleefully. 'Oh boy, oh boy, a whole day with you guys! What do we wanna do first?'

'Umm…'

Bones was certain the crashing in his mind was his worlds colliding in a hideous melting swirl of messy emotions; guilt, hope, surprise plus a few others he couldn't name were sliding around in his soul as he tried to pick the right path.

Then like some golden-haired angel, Christine was there saving his bacon once more. 'Well, I know that every woman if she's going out for dinner while on vacation needs to look her best and should treat herself to a day at the spa. How about it, Jo? A few hours at the Aegean Waters sound like fun?'

'Really?' She squeaked it out, then looked to her dad. 'Is it okay?'

'Yeah, sure is,' Bones confirmed for her, then turned to Christine as Joanna and Kate jumped around and squealed in delight. 'What are you up to?'

'I did some homework and found out about this place, figured since my birthday is in two days it'd be nice to be freshened up for a special night while you pick up that birthday gift you had in mind.' Christine smiled in her sweet way. 'Plus Joanna is on vacation and what better way to feel sophisticated than get treated to a totally girly day?'

'Christine, you're the best.' Bones gave her a passionate kiss, eliciting 'ewwwws' from Joanna and Kate, chuckled. 'Wow, you're pretty quick to go from happy to horrified, Jo.'

'Still happy. Can we go now?'

'How about we let your dad and his girlfriend-' Kate put a little sing-song into her voice on the word '-get settled wherever they're staying and we meet them there in an hour?'

'Perfect.'

Joanna gave her father one last hug, then skipped off with her friend and the parents, leaving Bones and Christine shell-shocked. They sat down on the edge of the foyer's fountain, Christine seeing the emotions fight on Bones face.

'Talk to me.'

'What?' Bones, still a little dazed by the sudden turn of events, turned to her. 'Talk-'

'I can see it on your face, you'd love nothing more than to spend the next four days with your daughter but you don't wanna hurt me by blowing off my birthday barely a week into this new level in our relationship, and you don't wanna spoil your teenage daughter's good time with her friends by being a hovering daddy.'

'Sounds about right,' he admitted, lifted a hand before letting it fall to his thigh. 'I can't believe she's here, and I want to soak up every moment I can with her but I don't want you to feel ignored or think that my daughter will always come first in my world and that means you have to just suck it up and deal with it if you wanna be together.'

'Babe, you are overthinking this way too much,' Christine replied reassuringly. 'You are not going to blow off spending time with Joanna because you think my ego needs tending, and you're not going to blow off time with her because you want to spend the next four days with me. So here's the deal.'

She rose, shouldering her tote and grabbing both their bags. 'We're going to head over to your cousin's place to drop off our stuff, then you are going to do your errands while I spend the day with your daughter and the three of us are going out for dinner tonight. Think of it as the family dinner before the grown-ups and kids get to play in their own ways.'

'I'm never gonna win another fight ever, am I?' Bones laughed as he rose, took his bag back from her.

'As long as I'm around, it's highly unlikely.'

'Well, thank god the sex makes it worth it,' he replied, making Christine laugh as her cheeks went pink. 'Sure you're not part Vulcan?'

'One hundred percent red blooded female human.'

'Excellent. This way.'

* * *

Once they'd stowed their luggage at the apartment so generously lent to them, Christine and Bones went their separate ways with promises they'd get to celebrate their vacation time properly that night. She stood at the entrance to the spa, nervously drumming her fingers on her bag and feeling the edge of second-guessing guilt in her nerves. What the hell had she done? Whatever it was, it was certainly not to use Joanna as a means to get closer to Bones. _Oh, look at me pretending to care about spending time with your kid just so I can in your pants even more than I already have_ , she singsonged in her head, then let out a disgusted noise. Not even close - she would never be that cruel to either Bones or Joanna, or that selfish in her own right. Christine just prayed neither of them saw it that way.

Her own indecisiveness was tabled when she heard the girls as they approached.

'Can you believe it?'

'I know, it's so great, huh?'

'Think they'll- hey! There she is!'

Joanna bounced over and gave Christine another rib-crushing hug. 'Oh this is so great! Mom never lets me tag along when she goes on retreats like this, it's like hello, I'm almost thirteen, I'd like to stop being her little girl once in a while.'

'You'll always be her little girl but you won't always be a child,' Kate clarified off Christine's worried look. 'Trust me, my mom nearly had a heart attack when I asked her to take me shopping for underwear at Jessica Fairy.'

'Yeah, no kidding, that place has some pretty racy stuff.'

'What's your mom like, Christine?' Joanna asked, eyeing up the racks of take-home products used in the spa.

'She's pretty cool, but my grandmother nearly had a stroke when she saw me in a swimsuit which didn't cover my tattoos,' she replied, saw the girls' eyes go wide with interest as they went in the spa entrance.

'Where are they? What do they mean? Or were they just for fun?'

'Ask me again later.'

'That's not gonna turn her off,' Kate replied, her black hair swishing over her shoulders as she shook her head. 'She'll be even worse tonight at dinner.'

'I hope you and your folks aren't too upset about this change of plans.'

'Nonsense, are you kidding? I didn't hear a single thing on the trip out here except how she saw you guys having lunch together and that she was hoping that Doctor McCoy finally got over himself and- what was that human phrase you used, Jo?'

'Planted a big fat one on you,' Joanna concluded, her eyes twinkling like polished emeralds as they stepped to the counter. 'So glad he did!'

'Hello and welcome to Aegean Waters.' The Orion woman at the counter wore a floor-length shapeless dress in a pearly pale green that was a perfect compliment to her skin tone. 'How may I assist you?'

'I have an appointment, Christine Chapel?'

'Yes, Miss Chapel, you are scheduled for the Athenian package, which includes a manicure, pedicure, massage, body hair removal, facial, and hair styling.' The woman scanned her computer screens, glanced up. 'Your appointment indicated you would be the only one coming in today.'

'That's fine, they can have the same as me, if there's space,' Christine replied so smoothly that the attendant lifted her brows in surprise before she could help it; behind her Christine heard the delighted gasps of Kate and Joanna, and held up her personal Infinity card. It had been a gift from her grandfather who'd insisted Christine have it so that she'd never do without while serving on board that 'God forsaken rocket ship'; well now it was finally going to be used. 'Also, is there an option for refreshments?'

The Orion woman's eyes went round as moons when she saw the Infinity card. 'Yes, of course we can accommodate your guests, and I will see right away about getting you set up with some refreshments. Right this way please.'

'That was so badass!' Joanna hissed out, then clapped a hand to her mouth while the other gripped Christine's bicep in glee. 'Sorry.'

'I won't tell if you won't.'

'Cool.'

* * *

While his two favourite women prepped for their day of indulgence, Bones found himself in the very place that had started everything in motion in the last week. Well, not the exact place, but close enough he thought as he looked around the commercial greenhouse at the various seedlings, shrubs and other sundry flora being offered. He tried not to look like the cheapskate but he knew that his credit-pass would only be good for so much, especially since he still had other items to buy.

Still, if he had to blow his whole fun-budget in a single go, he was more than happy to do it on a gift for Christine and dinner with both her and Joanna.

'Can I help you sir?'

Bones turned around at the voice, nodded curtly at the shop's staff who'd seen him loitering in the edible plants section. 'Yes, could you tell me if you have any berry bushes?'

'Certainly, right this way.'

The clerk led him to the farthest row of plants and at once Bones smelled mingling fragrances of the lush fruits. Perfect, he thought, he'd definitely find what he'd need here.

'We have Cygnusian strawberries, Tyrollean sea-berries, Barilkian night-berries, as well as the usuals from Earth.'

'Any blueberry plants?'

'Hmm, those are really rare around here, the chefs and cooks are always snapping them up.' The clerk took him down the row. 'What are you needing it for?'

'It's my girlfriend's birthday, she-'

'Oh, well, why not go with some roses or night-blooming jasmine?'

'Because she has a hydroponic greenhouse and I want to give her blueberries.'

'Very well. Here we are.'

Bones scanned the selection of bushes, unsure of what to pick; he knew medicinal plants, not fruit ones. The irony of needing Christine's expertise to make this choice wasn't lost on him. 'Which one would you suggest?'

'How much can you spend?'

'I can do…fifty, sixty max.'

'You've got a girl with expensive taste, my man, only one I've got is this one-' the clerk pulled a small bush out that looked more like a house plant '-and it's worthy seventy, easily.'

'Come on, I told you what I've got.'

'Alright, sixty-five.'

'For that little runty thing?'

'It's a seedling, it's gonna get bigger and multiply if you give it the right stuff.'

A perfect metaphor for their relationship, Bones thought, but he did the necessary dance. 'How do I know you're not pushing some moon-fern on me to get more cash?'

'See these short leaves, the way they look like stretched out almonds? That shape means blueberries, it's very distinctive amongst plants. If your girl enjoys gardening, she'll know, and the last thing I wanna deal with is your pissed-off honey pie.'

'It's the first birthday I'm giving her a gift so it has to be right.'

'This is a good choice.'

Bones took the seedling to the checkout to pay, breathing a quiet sigh of relief when his card swiped green; he had the clerk do the gift wrapping, sparkling green wrap with curling purple ribbon, but opted to pick the holo-card separately. After a hurried thanks for the discount, Bones scanned the shopping agora of the satellite and landed on the Stinson & Harper jewellery shop but was hesitant to head over. Despite the open space being well populated, he knew that the influx of the _Enterprise_ 's crew meant there was a higher risk of being noticed and shopping for his girlfriend's birthday was a time he definitely didn't to be-

'Hey, Bones!'

'For fuck's sakes,' he muttered as he heard Sulu's voice behind him; turning, he saw both Sulu and Scotty approaching him each keeping their grins in check as best as they could. 'Morning, gentlemen.'

'Doin' a spot o' shopping, I see,' Scotty wiggled his eyebrows. 'I take it you've got something special planned for the missus later?'

'Wanna join us for some food, Bones?' Sulu offered. 'Scotty heard there's a place here they call a throwback, which I guess means it's like stuff from the early twenty-first century when the foodie-craze was in full-swing.'

'You can get bangers and mash with real coffee. Unless you're planning on takin' the missus some breakfast in bed.'

'Nope, still have more shopping to do,' Bones replied, clutching his wrapped plant like a life-raft as he told them of the unexpected twist in his shore-leave plans. 'So unless you wanna tell Christine why I don't have a birthday gift for her-'

'Aye, in a new romance flowers won't cover it unless you're in the dog-house, and I canna imagine you gettin' sent there by Nurse Chapel,' Scotty admitted, 'so enjoy!'

'If you want, we can send you a recommend once we've eaten,' Sulu offered, then couldn't help himself. 'You know, for post-coital birthday pancakes.'

'Really, Hikaru?'

'Hey, my man's pancakes are half the reason I married him,' he admitted, then put a supportive hand on Bones' shoulder as he pointed towards the jewellery store with the other. 'I'm sure she'll love whatever you get her, but in case you're stuck on an idea jewellery is always a good bet. My daughter is eight and loves her sparkles so I imagine a grown woman with good taste like Christine would definitely go for that.'

'How do you know she has good taste?'

Sulu gave an affable shrug before jogging off to catch up with Scotty, whose desire for real food was already propelling him towards the diner. 'She picked you, didn't she?' he called over his shoulder.

Whether he knew it or not, Sulu's comment gave Bones such a renewal of confidence that he bypassed the jewellery shop for another boutique he would have normally chosen to visit online from home rather than setting one toe over the threshold of. He stepped inside, looking around as the scents of vanilla, jasmine and shea butter began to crowd his nose. Fortunately before he could look like the fish out of water he knew himself to be in this environment, at least this first time around, he heard the voice of another helpful shop attendant.

'Hello, welcome to Jessica Fairy. How may I help you today?'


	21. Rock Me Gently

'I feel so fancy! Now I know why Mom likes getting this done, I feel like a princess!'

'Your mama's never taken you to the spa, or the salon before?'

Joanna, wrapped cozily in her fluffy blue bathrobe, shrugged as she perused the nail lacquer colour offerings of the mani-pedi rooms of the day spa. 'She takes me to get a haircut, and I got my nails done once when we had to go to the wedding for Pike's daughter, but other than that, no. She says it's for older girls who can appreciate it.'

'That's a crock, every woman no matter if she's eight, eighteen or eighty-eight needs to feel pretty,' Christine scoffed. 'You don't strike me as the silly spoiled type at all.'

'She goes plenty, but then my mom is never without war paint. Me, I don't like it, it feels like I'm tricking people into liking me.' Joanna gave another shrug. 'I mean, I like to look nice, but gel irises? Fakes tans and skin tinting? Surgery for fashion? That just weirds me out.'

'It'd be like Kate over there turning peachy, huh?' Christine pointed across the room to where Kate was getting a Tyrollean sea-weed crystal facial to amplify the natural beauty of her violet Cygnusian complexion. 'Wouldn't that be a sight?'

'Too weird. I think I'm going to go with these colours,' Joanna decided, pointed to the samples of shimmering gold, an iridescent coral pink and a swirling marble of silver and green. 'Gold toes, then pink and the silvery green for my fingers. How about you?'

'I think I'm going to go for that champagne-bronze for my fingers and then the black-light prism sparkles for my toes. I've had blue long enough, it's starting to feel too permanent.'

'Speaking of permanent, what about those tattoos?' Joanna reached over, grabbed her flute of sparkling night-berry punch and took a healthy swig. 'Why'd you get those?'

'Each one is symbolic of my brothers, Pat and Tim. Pat passed away about twelve years ago, and-'

'No, no, I mean I'm sure the stories matter and everything but why those pictures?'

'Oh, well,' Christine laughed, glad to not have to go through the whole sad history again with another equally caring and interested McCoy and told her the story of the _Rock Lobster_ and the _Starfish_. 'But don't you go getting any ideas, missy, that's not on the menu today.'

'Fine, Mom,' Joanna teased her with a cheeky grin Christine knew she'd inherited from Bones. 'Maybe a piercing? Those aren't permanent and very stylish and discreet, like a navel or auricle, or even an upper lobe?'

'Listen closely, Jojo,' Christine gave her the same pinning stare she used when Bones was trying to pull his woe-is-me shit. 'I like you, and I like your dad, and he likes me too, and I wanna keep it that way.'

'Translation, your dad and Christine wanna keep getting to see each other naked so you're not getting any body parts punctured on her watch,' Kate offered, as she wandered over while her facial-mask set; she looked like she'd been dipped in key-lime buttercream which made her black eyes even darker somehow.

'Exactly,' Christine agreed, then saw Joanna squirm uncomfortably. 'I'm sorry, that was too much.'

'No, no, I get it, you guys are dating, you're gonna do….that…' Joanna fumbled as she turned as pink as the nail polish she'd chosen. 'But I guess that's what happens when you're in love, and that's when all that touchy-feely stuff is best, right?'

'You got it. Sometimes you gotta stumble a bit before you find your best, but when you do, it's really something special.'

'See that? Look, right there, Kate?' Joanna pointed at Christine's dreamy smile and looked at her friend. 'That's what I kept trying to explain to you, that whenever Daddy and me get some face-time, that's how he always looked when he talked about Christine, and now I can see it on her, so ha! I'm not crazy and I'm not just trying to play matchmaker, I was right!'

'Oh yeah, you're right,' Kate agreed, then heard the timer go off and shuffled over to the rinsing station for her face, while Joanna glowed with triumph.

'Hey, think my dad might let me have some champagne at your birthday dinner tonight?'

Now Christine laughed. 'Keep dreaming, sweetheart.'

'Wow, she even sounds like him now too,' Joanna added, then settled in happily as the aesthetician began to work on her nails and she began to daydream about throwing her dad the perfect wedding.

By the end of their day at the spa - and it was indeed the end of day day, for once everything was finished it was past sixteen-hundred- Christine felt primped, polished and utterly feminine as she slipped her shoes back on, thought of how much fun she'd had listening to Joanna's incessant joyful chatter, sharing funny stories about school and home and her dad. No, she thought, she hadn't spent the day with Joanna trying to get closer to Bones, or make herself into an instant cool-fun stepmother - she'd simply enjoyed having the company of a fresh face to hang out with while she spruced herself up, and add to the excitement for this unexpected part of their breaks.

Pulling out her communicator, she signalled Bones and was treated to his grumpy greeting that was as welcoming as a hug to her now.

'Spock, someone better be a jackrabbit's fuck away from death because I have plans to keep shortly.'

'Boy, it's a good thing I know you're so cute when you're cranky.'

'Hey darlin'.' The change in his tone was instantaneous, and Bones scolded himself mentally for being so rude. 'How was the beauty parlour?'

'Way to make us sound so antiquated. The _day spa_ was fantastic, you'll positively swoon when you see me and Joanna.'

'Please tell me she isn't gonna come out of there with pink hair and her boobs tattooed or something because it's all the rage out here.'

'Well…no,' she admitted, unable to tease him just now when he sounded so much the worried papa. 'I think she's too distracted by the idea of you and me to seriously consider any serious body modifications.'

'Well, I like what they did to your hair, it looks all golden and shiny like fresh wheat waving in the summer wind.'

Instinctively, Christine reached up to touch her styled hair, then blinked. 'How can-'

'Turn around.'

She did so, and smiled widely as she saw Bones crossing the atrium towards her. He'd taken some of their day apart to get himself spruced up; she could see the neatly buzzed edges of his hairline, his face smooth as a baby's bottom. She clicked her communicator close, snickered at his exaggerated face.

'Did you just hang up on me?'

'I don't think so.'

'Mmm, you look tasty, darlin'.' Bones leaned over, kissed her cheek; he loved the slightly glassy-eyed look she got when she got a whiff of the sandalwood aftershave they'd used on him at the barber-shop. 'Don't wanna get you all smudged up and messy…at least, not yet.'

'You smell good, like…leather and horses.'

'Found a spot that does old-style shave and a haircut, just like my grand-daddy's grand-daddy told him about. What do you think?'

'I think it's a good thing we're in public,' she replied, kissing his cheek in return then heard the shrill little 'Ew! Dad, not here!' behind her. 'Case in point.'

Bones glanced over Christine's shoulder, felt only mildly uncomfortable about how glamorous and polished his baby girl suddenly looked as she emerged from the salon with her friend, both hands carrying bags of products to take home. 'Jo, did you buy the whole place?' he asked with a laugh.

'Daddy, come on, I'm not gonna blow all my vacation allowance on spa products, no matter how pretty those earrings looked.' Joanna gave Christine a meaningful look. 'Thanks again for today, it was really nice of you and I had so much fun!'

'Any time, every girl needs a little bit of decadence on vacation.'

'Oh, here.' Joanna passed the two larger shopping bags to Christine, kept the smallest one for herself and waggled it at Bones. 'See? This teeny-tiny little guy is mine, just a few sample sizes of the stuff they used on us. When do we eat?'

'It's…' Bones checked his wrist unit, did the math. 'Sixteen-hundred thirty so why don't I see about getting reservations at that Vegas Four place for eighteen-thirty?'

'Perfect!' Joanna kept her mouth open to say more, then felt it go numb, her brain go foolishly blank; neither Christine nor Bones missed it, and turned to see what had made her go gaga. Bones swore he felt his own brain sizzle when he saw his captain approaching them in his on-duty attire, not only because at this rate he'd never get the alone time he was craving with Christine but also for the preteen glint the sight of James Kirk put in his daughter's eye. He suddenly had renewed appreciation for why his ancestors had held shotgun weddings.

'Well hello there, Cadet McCoy!' Kirk greeted her graciously with a grin that made Joanna's heart flutter madly, then gave Kate a little nod. 'Fancy running into you here.'

'It's a small satellite,' Bones replied with a slightly clenched jaw that Kirk didn't miss for a moment.

'Big enough for having some time to yourself, though. Can't stay, I'm on my way to meet with the Star-Fleet outpost commander but I thought I'd mention that we're having a little officers-only soiree tomorrow night after some music thing you guys are going to with Spock and Uhura. Joanna, you're welcome to come too,' Kirk added, and was treated to the same eardrum-shattering shriek Bones had received.

'A party with Star Fleet officers? Will Chekov be there?'

'Sure thing, he's-'

'Absolutely, we'll be there with bells on,' Joanna cut him off, turned to her friend without a second thought to her father and his girlfriend. 'Kate, let's go shopping! I need some better shoes than the ones I brought, and maybe a dress or a nice skirt!'

'Or let's go for a swim at the hotel so you don't float off the satellite, and we'll go shopping tomorrow?' Kate suggested, making Joanna and Bones laugh in such a similar way that Christine had to suppress the giggle.

'I don't want my nice hairdo all mucked up with pool water before dinner tonight!'

'Then how about the arcade?'

'Or shopping.'

'Mini-golf? VR tube rental?'

'Shopping.'

'Miss Christine, does he do this too?' Kate asked, jerking her thumb in Bones' direction.

'Sometimes,' she replied, thinking of the tug-o-war over her dinner the night before their first date. 'Trick is to find the right button to kill the defences.'

'Fine, if I go shopping today we go to that art gallery on the third level tomorrow and no wussing out.'

'Deal. Where should I meet you guys for dinner?' Joanna asked her dad, never missing a beat as she passed Christine her bags of spa products while keeping the handsome Kirk in the corner of her eye.

'Just outside the restaurant so we know you're not inside sucking down junior mai-tais and going into a sugar coma,' Christine suggested.

'You got it. Bye!'

Bones watched his daughter head off, still babbling like a rushing brook that was punctuated by the smooth undertones of her friend's snickering, then heard the quiet chuckles from Christine. 'What's so funny?'

'I had a sudden flash of you as a new daddy with Joanna learning to talk, and her wrapping you around her little finger as she bargained with you about staying up past nap time.'

'Actually it was over extra desserts which she only got if she ate extra veggies. Girl would stuff her cheeks full of mashed carrots like a chipmunk and tell me she wanted to wash them down with chocolate ice cream.' Bones turned to Kirk, tried to keep the impatient annoyance from his voice. 'Couldn't you have done that by communicator?'

'I could but then when I saw you guys here, I couldn't resist.'

'And I haven't agreed yet to any musical thing with…' Bones turned back to Christine, saw her rolling her eyes up-down-left-right in guilty innocence. 'Thought I said I wasn't gonna be responsible for any agreements made on the shuttle flight down here! Darlin', please just-'

'Uhura texted me the details while I was getting a facial, it's a special presentation of a Disney film, _Fantasy_ something with a live orchestra!'

' _Fantasia at the Symphony_?'

That's the one.'

Bones sucked in air between his teeth, sent Kirk a doleful look. 'If a transporter malfunction isn't gonna be the death of me, I think my two favourite women will be.'

'I know what you mean. I gotta go, hope you two have a good time tonight.'

Christine watched him go, put her hand on Bones' suddenly tense shoulder. 'Hey, you okay?'

'Yeah, yeah, I'm fine, I promise.' Bones took her hand in his, winked at her. 'It's been a hell of a day. I figured we'd get to my cousin's place, unpack, maybe have a bite of lunch and we'd each get our errands done before we met up with some of the crew for a friendly bite tonight, maybe drinks and karaoke-'

'Then back to the apartment for some alone time, just us,' Christine concluded, now seeing his progression of thought, understanding what he really meant. 'Time off, real time off, just for us to have a chance to get out of that fish bowl we talked about.'

'Yeah, exactly.'

'We can still do all that stuff tomorrow, and we're going to that officers-only party so that's who?' Christine held up her fingers to count the bodies. 'Kirk, Scotty, Sulu, Spock, Uhura, Chekov and he'll bring Sayuri, the two of us, plus Joanna and Kate. That's what, less than a dozen people including us. Fun social night with friends, me and Joanna followed by fun alone time with each other sounds like a pretty sweet deal for night two of shore leave.'

'I swear to God, you try to Spock-talk me once more,' Bones warned her playfully, slid his arm around her waist. 'We better head to the apartment and get ourselves sorted out, because if I know Joanna, she'll be there by six already ordering drinks for the table.'


	22. The Pineapple Song

Christine wanted to dismiss Bones' prediction, but being a good father meant he knew his baby girl inside out and this time was no exception - when they arrived for dinner, the hostess told them their third party was already seated with menus. As she walked arm-in-arm with Bones into the bistro side of the steakhouse, she had to bite back the laugh when she saw the bouncy almost-teen in her seat. A glass of ice water sat in front of her while she studied the menu with the intensity of a lawyer reading a deposition.

'Excuse us, Cadet McCoy, are these seats taken?' Bones asked as they approached the table, and Joanna's head snapped up; she nearly upended her chair when she rose to greet them. 'How long have you been waiting?'

'Got here about fifteen minutes ago, no biggie.' Joanna's eyes twinkled as she waved for the waiter, loving how she was being treated as an equal and not a child like her mother's boyfriend so often did. 'Apparently the special is Argentinean flat-iron steak with garlic butter Tyrollean shrimp skewers, the soup is Vulcan fire-roasted pepper and the Klaavian sun tea is on half-price.'

'Sounds delicious.'

They ordered drinks, Christine and Bones each opting for Budweiser Classic while Joanna's southern roots showed through and she decided on iced tea sweetened with Barilkian night-berries, before Joanna propped her chin on her hands and grinned gleefully.

'So tell me,' she chirped, 'what kind of stories do you wanna hear about my dad, the silly kind or the nice kind?'

'Jo, sweetheart-'

'Duh, the silly kind of course,' Christine replied, trying to send a message of sympathy to Bones telepathically.

'Fair enough, just remember that's a two-way street, darlin',' Bones said as he scanned his menu, keeping his face as innocent as possible. 'Joanna wants to know about you too.'

'I'll keep that in mind.' She turned to Jo, sipping her beer. 'Did he tell you about when we nearly had a Tribbles outbreak?'

'Oh yeah. I told him one way to get rid of it is to just teleport it to me here at home for a pet.' Joanna gave a little shrug. 'I don't get what the big deal is, they're cute!'

'Come spend some time in the lab with them, then we'll talk,' Bones suggested, making Joanna pout.

'I don't wanna think about those sweet little guys being used in labs. New topic, please! Oh I know one! How did you get down on the shuttle so easily, Dad? You looked pretty calm when we met you. Ooo, wait I know.' She turned towards Christine, delicately sipping her iced tea. 'You were there with your magic new-girlfriend powers.'

'Or I'm just that good a nurse,' Christine deflected modestly, which only made Joanna shake her head more.

'Actually, I'm glad he has a nurse for a special someone, so when he has a full blown puking panic attack after being in a wonky transporter-'

'That happened once,' Bones reminded his daughter as he tried to decide between pork-chops with Arcadian coleslaw and Barilkian mashed potatoes or the special of the day. 'Twice, tops.'

'Did it have to happen on my first day of school?'

'What?' Christine's laugh bubbled out before she could stop herself, then softened as Bones' cheeks flushed a pale tomato colour. 'Oh, Leonard, really?'

'The San Francisco Transpo Commission had said they were fixed and like a fool I believed them,' he tried to explain, but to no avail; Joanna was already plowing ahead with the gory details.

'Uh-huh, he was holding my hand and we stepped in the tube, then the beams kinda buzzed and started to glitch, and he started doing that coughing thing he does when he gets his aviophobic fits happening. When we reached the school, I was already heading across the yard and he was heaving his guts into the bushes by the shuttle stop.'

'No,' Christine giggled, pressed her fist gently to her mouth as Bones just rolled his eyes.

'She's had a lot of sugar and excitement today, don't believe a word of it.'

'You met my teacher with vomit on your shoes,' Joanna stated simply, finishing off Bones' dignity in the anecdote with a decisive death blow coupled with Christine's mortified gasp followed by her snorting guffaw of laughter. 'You should have known better than to have oatmeal that morning, Daddy.'

'Just like you should have known not to have chilli fries before we went on Space Mountain at Disneyland,' Bones volleyed back, winking at her; now it was Joanna who gasped in horror.

'Dad!'

'So we were spending the day at Disneyland just outside Los Angeles, I think you were about eight,' Bones began, then paused when the waiter returned to take their order; Christine went for the bacon-wrapped scallops with spinach salad, Joanna the coconut Tyrollean shrimp with grilled asparagus and Bones the porterhouse steak with roasted sweet-potato. The moment the waiter was out of earshot, he picked up right where he'd left off, jerking his thumb in Joanna's direction. 'Sweetheart here came up with a good idea that we have a snack while waiting in line for Space Mountain since the lineups were so long. That's the good idea. The bad one was when she begged me for chilli fries.'

'The chilli fries were really tasty.'

'Anyways, we got to take our turn on the ride, everything is great it's a total blast and then we get off the ride, and suddenly someone-' Bones pointed discreetly towards Joanna looking around the restaurant as she sipped her tea while trying not to flush ruby-red '-starts to feel iffy.'

'We went on the roller coasters and rides on your birthday last summer,' Christine recalled, a little confused, 'you weren't sick from any of those.'

'No, her problems were a little further…south.'

'Oh no, oh your poor lamb.' Christine reached over, gripped Joanna's hand understandingly which made Bones squawk in indignation.

'What, no hugs for me? I was the grownup getting sick when I should have been just another overly proud papa taking his baby girl to school!'

'I'll comfort you later,' she offered, making Joanna splutter.

'Now I'm grossed out even more! Sheesh, keep it in your pants, you guys.'

'Wanna hear something even worse than getting the scoots in the Magic Kingdom?'

'Only if it makes me feel better.'

'I'm sure it will.'

Bones took another sip of his beer and rather than focusing on the story itself, he just let his mind drift as he listened to the music of her voice punctuated with Joanna's occasional interjections and for the first time all day he felt truly happy. He was on shore leave, he had his two favourite women in the universe with him for dinner and they were getting on famously, and he would bid one goodnight with a kiss and a hug while the other he'd take in his arms and show her how much he cared for her as a woman.

A sudden swooping sensation came over him, and for a moment Bones imagined they were back on Earth, home in San Francisco and enjoying a night out. Joanna would be there because it was his weekend with her while Mel pissed off to God only knew where, and naturally Christine was with them. They'd catch up on the week's events, Joanna talking about school or sharing girl talk with Christine that would naturally make Bones uncomfortable so he'd switch the topic to sports or music or current events and everyone would have an opinion around the table. Then Joanna would go to a friend's house or upstairs to her own room while he and Christine had their own private time together watching the Giants play baseball or the Earthquakes decimate their opponents in Arena Ball until it became background noise while they seduced each other.

Maybe there would be a little one they'd take turns checking on, he mused, or would be soon; perhaps he'd come home to find Joanna doing her homework and Christine resting while her belly grew bigger with a magical little bump they'd made together in love.

Wasn't that a cozy picture, he scolded himself sarcastically, drinking more beer, then thought more on it. Yes, indeed it was and something he'd always longed to have once more in his life. He grown up with parents who loved him and his brother, and each other unconditionally; unwittingly or not, they'd set a very high standard for what home and family life should be in Bones' view. After things with Mel had soured and ultimately ended in a mushroom cloud of despair, he'd still craved that feeling of wholeness he'd had as a child, of finding himself with a wife he'd love until the day he died and beyond, raising kids with her and giving Joanna her ultimate dream of being a big sister. Was that why he'd wanted to be sure of his feelings for Christine, because on some deeper level he envisioned all those lovely dreams with her?

He tuned himself back in, at least halfway, to the conversation at hand and really watched the way she was with Joanna and thought, _yes, yes it was_. Of course, to get those tiny loves for them both and for Joanna too, there would have to be practice first - lots and lots of creative, delightful practice - and that could only happen when they were ready for that final consummation of their relationship thus far.

'I've never been more humiliated in my life, and I could never ever look at a Twix bar ever again!'

'That's horrible! Twix bars are delicious!' Joanna looked to her dad, her insides bubbling over with joy when she saw the dreamy, far-away light in his eyes that she'd seen more than once when Christine's name came up in their chats. 'Don't you think, Dad?'

'Twix bars are the cookie and caramel ones, right?'

At this Joanna pulled a mocking face. 'Dad's not one for desserts, or chocolate bars.'

'Well, I do enjoy ice cream,' he replied, giving Christine a wink that made her gulp down an extra long pull from her beer; Joanna was too enraptured by her meal's arrival to catch the exchange.

'That's true, Dad loves ice cream, especially Cygnusian strawberry. Hey, you guys should have that for your birthday, Christine,' she suggested as their meals were brought over and she unfolded her cloth napkin with a sharp snap of the wrist. 'What are you planning for that, anyways? Dad said it's on the twenty-fifth?'

'It's a surprise,' was all Bones said, which satisfied his daughter's busy sense of curiosity.

'Man, you'll never get anything out of him if he says 'it's a surprise',' Joanna intoned in a mimic of her father's deep voice that had both adults snickering, then shuddered. 'Not even…y'know…doing those…grown-up touchy-feely…things I'm sure you guys have planned for later would make him crack.'

'Sweetheart, if saying such things makes you uncomfortable then why bring it up?' Christine inquired, making Bones thankful there was a woman around to ask such a question.

'I'm trying to gain more comfort and confidence with the topic. Kinda hard to avoid thinking about it when…when…'

'When your old man has a new girlfriend and you're at the age when you start learning what happens in adult relationships,' Bones finished for her, and Joanna nodded as she crammed in a stuffing mouthful of shrimp.

' 'Xactly,' she replied, gulping down water so the massive bite didn't stick in her throat. 'So I just want you to remember how supportive I'm being right now so that when I start dating you don't lose your mind, either one of you.'

'Duly noted,' Christine assured her. 'How's the shrimp?'

'Oh, delicious. Wanna try some?'

'Sure. Scallop?'

'Duh, it has bacon, everything with bacon is good in my books.'

The girls swapped bites, while Bones who normally guarded his steak with the ferocity of a junkyard dog until he was down to fat scraps offered up a sample to Christine. He knew it was bordering on that pervert-line he'd talked about with Christine in the shuttle that morning but his new-relationship libido couldn't separate the yummy noises she made with the same ones she made in bed with him. He took a swig of his beer, chased it with the last of his sweet potatoes before setting his fork down.

'So, what do you have planned for the rest of the week you're here, Jo?'

'Well there's the party tomorrow-' she all but sang it '-then we're doing the classy tourist type stuff. You know, the art gallery, the museum on the history of space travel, maybe day-tripping down to Tantalus Three for the winter harvest festival pre-celebrations.'

'It's May.'

'Which is the end of winter on Tantalus Three,' Joanna reminded him. 'Kate's dad has those licenses that let us take fruits and stuff off-planet so we can have a taste of vacation once we're back. What about you guys?'

'No plans,' Christine replied, 'just being spontaneous and coming down from doing physicals for the whole crew in the last week.'

''Well, there is that party tomorrow,' Bones pointed out, then looked at Joanna who was nearly vibrating out of her chair with anticipation. 'You found something that won't make me use a phaser on my crew mates?'

'Dad, they're all old guys!'

'Thank you, sweetheart.'

'I got something that was school-dance appropriate,' she informed Christine, 'it's really pretty, it's like this smoky purple and the shoes with it are awesome too!'

'You should wear those new earrings you got in the spa boutique, they'd look good with smoky purple. The crystal drop ones, not the silver studs.'

'Yeah, too bad there's only two holes in my head or else I could wear them all.'

Bones saw Christine set her jaw, the same way she did she when she was trying not to laugh at him, and furrowed his brow. 'Did I miss something?'

'It's a girl thing, Dad.' Joanna sent him a look he'd become accustomed to seeing on her nearly-teenage face.

'Try me.'

'Oh no, if my birthday is a surprise, then we're allowed to have this,' Christine told him as their dishes were cleared and she tapped her mouth gently with her napkin. 'Every girl needs her secrets, right Joanna?'

'Right,' she beamed proudly, her ego fit to bursting with pride at how her dad's girlfriend treated her like a whole real person, not the way her mom's boyfriend did like she was some wayward pet. 'Oh, and speaking of secrets…'

Christine and Bones looked around as what seemed to be the entire waitstaff of the restaurant gathered around to sing happy birthday to Christine and put a complimentary dessert in front of her. Joanna already had her camera out to take pictures, and was about to snap the first one when she saw the look on Christine's face.

'Christine? What's wrong?'

'I'm okay,' she replied in a small voice as she stared at the dessert in front of her and willed the stinging to subside. She felt Bones take her hand in his and squeezed it back with just as much comforting strength as he gave her in that simple gesture.

'What is it, darlin'?'

'When I was a kid…whenever I'd had a bad day, Pat would always make me walk home with him and we'd get ice cream from this shop across the street from the school so we'd walk and eat and talk it out. My favourite was always the pineapple gelato in a waffle cone,' Christine explained as she stared at the sharing-sized Belgian waffle topped with vanilla ice cream, fresh pineapple and shavings of what looked like Andorian coconut. She sent a look to Joanna that was equal parts forgiveness and thankfulness. 'I bet you got this because I'm from Miami and you figured I'd like the tropical flavours, huh?'

'Mm-hmm.' Joanna nodded, sniffled grandly. 'I'd have gone with the chocolate layer cake if I'd known this would make you sad.'

'No, I'm not sad. Come here.'

Christine waved Joanna over, gave her a squeezing hug that was so tender Bones felt himself getting a little choked up. 'The only way I'd be sad is if you guys didn't share with me right now.'

'I did ask the waiter for extra forks.'

'Good girl.' Christine gave her side a little poke, then picked up her camera. 'How about a birthday selfie?'

It was amazing to watch his girls, Bones thought on a smile, how they could so easily slide on the emotional scale from bittersweetly nostalgic to birthday happy. The camera was passed around as they all took turns getting pictures in, and even the waiter stopped to take one of all three of them before they dug into the dessert. Between bites, Joanna promised to send him and Christine both the photos of them together while peppering Christine with questions about what she would wear the following night to the symphony and begging to have just a slurp of champagne.

'Joanna, sweetheart, apple-dumpling treasure…' Bones picked up her hand in his, clapped his wide palm over her slim one. 'Not a chance in hell.'

'But it's a special occasion, like…like New Year's or Diwali or International Federation Day! Please? Christine?'

Joanna turned her big softy-eyes to the nurse, who met Bones' stern stare across the table, and she sighed. 'Sorry, Jo, rules are rules.'

'Aw man!'

'But I bet if you ask him nicely, Chekov could whip you up a soft cocktail all your own.'

'Really?'

'Oh yeah, kid's quite the bartender, he knows all the tricks,' Bones informed her and Joanna sighed in resignation.

'You're evil, Daddy,' she told him, 'but your evil works.'

'Yes, yes it does.' Bones looked at Christine and for a moment she thought her clothes might melt off her body from the heat radiating out of those intense eyes. 'I think it's about time to settle the tab and head home.'

'But…right. Big people alone time.' Joanna elongated the vowels in her words, rose to find the ladies room. 'Meet you guys out front!'

Once his daughter was out of earshot, Bones turned to Christine and gave her a quick steaming kiss. 'You are so amazing, Chris.'

'Leonard, you know it's not an act, right? I really do enjoy spending time with her.'

'I do know, that's why it means so much to me.'

'Okay, good.' Feeling that last little nugget of doubt over the day slip away, she wiggled her eyebrows at him. 'Hey, guess what one of the things was I got in my take-home bag from the spa?'

'Supplies to make your lemon pie fun time soap?'

'Massage oils.'

Bones barely registered his moves as he took his chip-card from his wallet to scan and pay for dinner. 'Tell me more.'


	23. La Cumparsita

The following evening, Bones sighed impatiently as he tugged at the collar of his tuxedo while he looked around the lobby of the Orpheum Opera House that was home to all sorts of live entertainment events for the residents of the Tantalus system. He couldn't believe not only had Uhura taken Christine out shopping the whole damn day under the excuse they needed clothes for the symphony that night - apparently it was a big deal black tie type shindig - but that Bones was spending the evening of day two on his shore leave time on a double date with Uhura and Spock. The fact they were going to the symphony, something Bones secretly enjoyed doing from time to time in the holodeck, had made it all the more frustrating when he learned he'd have to rent a tux for the night.

But the wait for the women - who'd insisted they meet them there in order to make an entrance - was made all the more entertaining by the fact that Spock was beside him fidgeting with his own tuxedo tie and scowling at all the people milling around them.

'I do not see the logic in such attire, Doctor. There appears to be no uniform code for cut or colour of clothing worn, neither for accessories for either gender, and the majority of the evening is spent sitting in a darkened theatre listening to music.'

It was as close to complaining as Bones had ever heard from Spock and it made him chuckle. 'It's about the fact that in days gone by, the people coming to these events were usually members of high society and used it as an opportunity to pull out all the stops to show off how much money they had by looking fancy.'

'Ego should not surpass functionality no matter what the occasion.' Spock looked around, and Bones actually saw him do a double take as he stood up a little straighter, his slim hands brushing at the front of his shirt and jacket. 'It would appear our companions have arrived.'

Bones turned around and felt everything else fade to the background as he saw Christine and Uhura walk into the foyer, and while he could appreciate Uhura's beauty in a distanced way with her silvery shimmering sheath-dress, it was Christine who blew him away. She was dressed in a halter-necked gown the colour of crushed raspberries, fitted through the body and draping at her hips. She'd twisted her hair up so only a few loose tendrils caressed her face and her neck; when she turned towards Uhura, Bones could see there was no back to her dress, making him wonder how her curves looked amplified without any apparent lingerie on underneath.

'Doctor, I've been told it is impolite in human culture to stare.'

'Huh?' Bones turned, and for a moment thought he saw the corners of Spock's mouth twitch upwards into a ghost of a smile.

'Unless you are appraising your mate, as I am.'

'Ap…sure, let's call it that,' Bones agreed as Christine locked eyes with him and she tugged on Uhura's elbow to direct them towards the first landing of the staircase. When she reached him, he nearly drooled on her uncovered shoulder as the lemon-pie fragrance of her skin drew him in; closer now Bones could see the tint of her lips was the same shade as her dress.

Christine was amazed she hadn't burst into flames at the sight of her studly curmudgeon of a boyfriend in a tuxedo; it was almost as good as seeing him naked, mostly because she knew what a body she'd find once she loosened that neatly knotted bowtie. With one hand delicately lifting the front of her skirt to rise up the stairs and the other providing a counterbalance for Uhura, she approached slowly as though in a dream. Truth be told, it did feel like a dream tonight, with the rich atmosphere of the bustling lobby, women in silks and satins while men wore dark tailored suits while hundreds of mingling perfumes made everyone a little lightheaded.

Then she'd seen him across the room and for a moment everything else just fell away as they locked eyes and in that instant they were the only two people in the universe. Now he held out his hand to her and drew her in for one of those kisses on her cheek that Christine had come to learn was his way of telling her he wanted to do so much more than what the moment allowed.

'You look sensational,' he murmured to her, stroking his knuckles gently up her arm to play with the ends of her aged-gold hair.

'Right back at you,' she replied, then smiled when she saw Spock and Uhura touch their palms together in a gesture that was the Vulcan equivalent of greeting with a steaming kiss. 'Where'd you dig up the monkey suit?'

'Sulu recommended a tailor to Spock, apparently,' Bones replied on a laugh, then much like Spock had he brushed his hands over his chest. 'What do you think?'

'I think…' Christine gave him the kind of once-over that had Bones swallowing tightly; he'd come to know that look all too well in the last week and knew it ended with them naked and sated. 'It's a good thing we've got our own private apartment later.'

'Agreed.'

The lights flickered in the time-honoured tradition of the five minutes call to curtain, and the two couples made their way up to find their seats for what turned out to be more than just a pleasant fancy night out. The orchestra was spectacular and when the images on the screen came to life in vivid moving colour the entire audience was as enraptured as children seeing Santa Claus for the first time; it was easy to see how the people of the twentieth century had fallen in love with this sort of entertainment. Despite his outward grumpiness, it only took until the opening strains Tchaikovsky's _Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy_ for his confounded brain - was he really on a double date where the male half of said double was the pointy-eared hobgoblin? - to just enjoy the moment. He saw the way Christine's face was completely enthralled in joy at the enchanted garden, and when her fingers began to drum in time with the beat of _The Sorcerer's Apprentice_ , he reached over and took her hand.

'Thank you,' he murmured to her.

'For what?'

'For not letting me be a cranky asshole and skipping this.'

'Anytime,' she whispered back, lifting their joined hands and putting a kiss on the back of his. 'Just too bad.'

'What?'

'These seats make it hard to grope you in that tux.'

Bones turned his head ever so slightly to see her face, and caught the gleam in her eye that he'd seen just that morning in the shower before they'd gotten all handsy. It made him think of the argument in his brain at dinner the night before - perhaps that whole 'practicing' thing would happen sooner than either of them anticipated.

'Just keep it in your dress, Nurse Chapel,' he murmured back, 'at least until we're alone.'

But this was easier said than done upon viewing what turned out to be his favourite segment of the whole show - Beethoven's _Pastoral_ had been set in the fantastic world of ancient Greek mythology, which included gorgeous female centaurs bare-breasted and painted in every hue of the rainbow imaginable as they found their their mates with the aid of various fauns, cherubs and pegasus. There was a part of Bones' brain that knew he was watching drawings in motion but the sensuality the characters exuded reminded him of being on the holo deck with Christine for their first date, and he wondered how much convincing, if any, it would take to get his girlfriend interested in the idea of a little x-rated cosplay.

He let out a little cough, shifted every so slightly in his seat, and heard the gentle snicker form Christine beside him. 'Problem, darlin'?'

'Just thought you might be getting a little blue, is all,' she replied in that smooth voice Bones knew to be her way of teasing him and putting him at ease in the same breath. 'Is it getting a little hard to concentrate?'

Now it was Bones' turn to lift their hands and when he kissed hers, he added a little scrape of his teeth, felt her tremble all the way to her fingertips. 'I think we're even.'

Christine felt her hormones amp their already-in-overdrive speed to near blinding; the teasing and tempting was going to be the death of her tonight. Part of her wondered if maybe she and Bones could delay meeting Joanna and the rest of the officers for their get-together so she could jump on her boyfriend at home and ride him like a circus pony until they were both blind from satisfaction. But as mind-relieving as it would be, succumbing completely to her libido to take that final step in their still-new relationship wasn't something that Christine was interested in doing just because it would scratch the itch. She knew it was probably old-fashioned of her, but she wanted the moment to really mean something, but then everything so far with Bones was important to her because it was with him. Despite her track record with men, which ranged from pretty good to downright appalling in some of her choices, Christine had never been one to treat sex lightly. What Christine knew set her apart from her contemporaries, who wanted either a one-and-done mate for life or its total opposite, was that she approached any physical relationship on her own terms; as a result her choices had often confused and annoyed her brother and her auntie, the two people whose opinion mattered most to her.

It was because she knew they'd have some very specific comments about what to do with Bones that she wanted that first time with him to be something more than just animal fucking. And judging from the way he'd been acting, Christine could tell he wanted that too.

By the end of the performance, with the excitement of the night still charging their systems, all four Star Fleet officers left the concert hall with faces glowing with delight.

'It's not hard at all to see how our ancestors found that such an entertaining way to spend an evening in the olden days, is it?' Uhura said as they walked down the steps of the concert hall, her arm looped through Spock's.

'The creative arts enhanced with the sciences are certainly one of the cultural treasures we've been given by our forbearers,' he agreed. 'It is logical that people in such a turbulent time would turn to escapism for a reprieve from their everyday burdens.'

'I didn't think you guys had art on Vulcan, too many messy emotions leading to arguments over who's got the right answer,' Bones commented.

'On the contrary, we are great believers in literature being a way to preserve and inform our society. We also believe in using it as a means of learning what values are held most preciously by other cultures, particularly those who begin an instructional course of study for the ambassadorship preparation program,' Spock replied smoothly, lightly putting his hand over Uhura's and forming the connection. 'While this conversation is surprisingly quite stimulating, Doctor-'

'Yeah, who knew we'd get along on a double date?' Bones interjected, making both women laugh.

'Nevertheless, I believe we must return to our quarters shortly so that we will be prompt for the time set for the officers' party.' He paused, frowned. 'Is it logical to infer that the captain will have Jack Daniels bourbon as part of the refreshment offerings?'

'Oh yeah, that's a safe horse to bet on.'

'We'll see you there,' Uhura said, and steered Spock towards a transporter cubicle, both Christine and Bones catching his question of how there would be a horse on a satellite. Turning to his girlfriend, Bones flashed a grin as they walked slowly down the steps towards the fountain in the atrium.

'Pity we're expected so quickly. Figured we'd have tonight to properly welcome your birthday,' he admitted, 'just the two of us.'

'It's only…' Christine looked around, saw the time on the atrium clock. 'Lord, it's not even twenty-one hundred, the night is young babe. Plenty of time for things to happen, but right now, we better head home unless you wanna go to an officer's party in a tux.'

Bones thought of how at every turn in the last two days whenever he'd bumped into one of his friends from the crew they'd given him proper teasing shit about whatever sprang to mind. 'Time to take that infernal microwave elevator home, then.'

It took less than the blink of an eye to arrive, more time to walk from their arrival station into the apartment structure where Bones' cousin lived; Christine wondered what it said about the level of her affection for her man that his griping about being beamed around like a ping-pong ball was music to her ears.

'So do you know where we're going?'

'Kirk said he was going to text the details, so probably, there is something waiting on my PADD,' Bones told her, uncoding the locks with his mind on how late it would make them if he and Christine got all those fired-up hormones out of their system before heading to the party. 'After you.'

'Thank you. I think I heard something about-'

'SURPRISE!'


	24. Reggae Night

Christine dropped her evening bag as the lights suddenly flashed on and there was a small roar of noise; she let out a little scream as she saw all their faces: Scotty and Sulu were in the living room by the bar, Chekov with his arm around Sayuri's waist, Kirk with a hand each on the shoulders of Joanna and Kate, and Spock and Uhura beside them. Everyone was clapping and whistling at their appearance. Christine then realized as she looked around the room that it had been decorated with silver, yellow and green balloons and streamers, an old-fashioned custom but one she still very much enjoyed in its retro-cool return to popularity, and strung up on the wall above the window panels was a banner that read _Happy Birthday Nurse Chapel_.

Christine lifted a trembling hand to her mouth, the other blindly groping for Bones' and felt his strong grip in return. 'Oh…my…what…what is this? Did you…?'

'No, I didn't,' Bones replied, as Kirk came over to embrace Christine tightly, give Bones a hearty handshake. 'What is all this? How the hell did you-'

'Considering the hearts floating around in your guys' eyes, it was surprisingly easy,' Kirk replied with a grin. 'Why do you think I was in such a rush yesterday to see the outpost commander?'

'And the tickets tonight?'

Now Uhura sauntered over, already changed out of her clothes from the symphony. Her expression was a mix of owned sheepishness and ecstatic delight. 'Spock's idea for distracting you both so that everyone could come in and get set up.'

'But how- oof!'

Christine felt the body-slamming hug as Joanna flung her arms around her middle, squeezing the air from her lungs; she turned to hug Joanna back, saw Katie standing behind her looking just as ecstatic. 'Hey, easy with old lady!'

'You're not old at all, Christine!' Joanna's eyes danced merrily, the green in them the same shade as Katie's party outfit for the night. 'Were you surprised?'

'What means _was_ , sweetheart, I'm still trying to figure out how you guys all did it!'

'After you told me about Christine's birthday coming up, when I saw you in the mess hall getting lunch for the medical staff, I got an idea,' Kirk explained to Bones and Christine, 'so I called a meeting of the senior staff to party plan.'

'Looks like you missed your calling, Captain,' Bones teased him, spying the dining room table laden with an array of treats and snacks, amongst which was a cake; his stomach gave a rumble and was reminded of the fact neither he nor Christine had really eaten dinner before the symphony. Now he new why Spock and Uhura had turned down the offer of a pre-performance dinner. 'How the hell did you get Spock to keep the secret? Thought Vulcans were incapable of lying?'

'You are correct,' Spock replied, coming over, and lord it must have been a special night Christine thought in shock; the commander was actually smiling. 'I was indeed truthful when I invited you to join us for the symphony. I was simply required to not be detailed in the activities of what happened once the symphony was over.'

'He's right, that's not technically lying, it is choosing not to be expansive. How do you think he planned that lovely six years anniversary surprise for me?' Uhura asked, then clucked her tongue when she realized the guests of honour were still in their fancy-dress clothes. 'Go, go get changed and we'll get Chekov to whip up those drinks he promised us all.'

'Okay,' Christine agreed numbly, and keeping her fingers linked with Bones' the pair slipped discreetly down the short hallway into the bedroom where they barely shut the door before they were bursting with laughter. She flung her arms around Bones, raining kisses over his cheeks and not giving a damn about the smudged coral impressions her lips left.

'This is too, too, funny!'

'I know,' he laughed, nipping at her jaw and making her squeak. 'Are we really that annoyingly new into this whole romance thing that neither of us suspected it?'

'Sadly, I think we are.'

'Good.'

Bones kissed her, a hot steaming fusion of lips to lips; his brain swam madly when he felt the little shiver of her body, the brush of her hardening nipples through the silk of her dress against his chest. His wide palms found the smooth delicate skin on her back and pulled her close so she could feel his arousal too. For a moment he forgot there were people waiting for their return and swept her off the ground so her mouth was level with his.

The moment was broken when there was a knock on the door, followed by Joanna's voice. 'Guys? Don't get any funny ideas, there are children here and we are waiting so Kirk can make the birthday toast!'

'Guess that's that settled,' Christine told him as she slipped back to her feet and gave him one more kiss before reaching behind her neck and unfastening her dress.

Bones turned to busy himself so he wouldn't be tempted to ignore his daughter's request and ravage his lovely girlfriend then and there. 'You do realize no matter how fast we put on regular clothes, there is still going to be teasing about us fitting in a quickie, right?'

'Oh I'm already composing my comebacks,' Christine replied as she pulled on snug-fitting black pants with a flowing green tunic, 'but I still wanna know how they got everyone here and into the apartment.'

'Considering my cousin is in Star-Fleet security for the satellite, it'd be easy for Kirk to get the info.' Bones frowned as he tugged up his jeans over his hips and he added a light sweater; though it was normal on earth to still wear such rustic clothing from time to time, especially were he was from, out here it would seem as exotic as an Orion would be visiting Kentucky. 'What I wanna know how my daughter showed up with Kate.'

'I have a few ideas on that,' Christine murmured with a little smile; the girl's crush on Ensign Chekov was as plain as day even if Bones was turning a blind daddy eye to it. Dressed, she turned back to him, giggled a bit when she saw Bones rubbing the kiss marks off his cheeks. 'Oops.'

'Remember that if you ever show up to work with a hickey in an odd place,' he reminded her, opening the door so they could return to the living space. The moment they were out there, Chekov immediately called them over to the bar with a sharp whistle like a bird-call. Once there he passed them each a tall flute of a crystal clear liquid, added in a few drops of something before handing them a spoon.

'Here, zis is for doing ze toasty,' he told them, and as she looked around, Christine saw everyone had a similar flute and a long spoon. 'Ah, Captain! Eh-were-ree-one is here and ready!'

'Excellent Mister Chekov!' Kirk called back to him, then waited until he had the room's attention. 'First off, I'd like to thank my fellow party planners, I think it's safe to say we definitely pulled off the surprise we were aiming for and then some.'

There was a murmuring chuckle from the crowd, with Scotty hollering out, 'At least she dinnah wee herself, Cap'n!'

'That is true, Mister Scott,' Kirk agreed, then went on, 'Whether you are fulfilling your duties as Nurse Chapel in an exemplary fashion or simply being Christine off duty, I know I speak for everyone here, especially that grumpy bastard beside you, when I say that the _Enterprise_ is a far better ship for having you to take care of its crew and we are a better crew for having you as a colleague and friend, and for Bones, a special someone to share the journey with. Here's to your first year on board the ship, a very happy birthday and many more to come. To Christine.'

'Happy birthday!' the rest of the party-goers cheered, then licked their spoons before dropping them into their glasses and stirring so the clear liquid turned different colours for each different drinker ranging from a pale golden straw colour to a rich sapphire. Christine saw her own become a marbled purple-blue while beside her the contents of Bones' glass became a candy pink. Cautiously she took a sip and let out a little giggle - her drink tasted exactly like the buttery blueberry pancakes she'd shared with Bones to finish curing her hangover.

'This is delicious, how's yours?'

'Quite tasty,' Bones managed; he hadn't expected the taste of Cygnusian strawberry ice cream to be so strongly replicated in a beverage and it brought back quite the vivid memory from just a few days prior of tracing a spoon dipped in the melted dessert over Christine's belly, amongst other body parts, and licking off every last drop while she giggled at the sensation. 'Wonder how the boy wonder got each one to be unique.'

'Boy wonder? He's almost twenty six, you know.'

'Which makes me legitimately old enough to be his father.' Bones took another sip of his drink, let the happy memory wash away his anxiety at knowing he was the oldest person on the crew. 'He never made me feel that way, though.'

'You're both grown-ups, and you're also friends, who cares about the age difference?' Christine shrugged, saw people start filtering towards the food and realized how hungry she was. 'Same with us, right?'

'That is very true, it- hey!'

The boy-wonder in question neatly cut in front of Bones, grabbing a plate from the buffet stack and was reaching for the salad tongs when he looked over his shoulder and coloured magnificently. 'Apologies, sir, I did not see it vass you in line. Nurse Shapel, vill you vant to open ze gifts eh-were-ree-one brought zis ee-wen-ning or vill you vait until tomorrow?'

'There's gifts?' Man, this party was one hell of a piñata that kept on giving, Christine thought as she put the Cesar salad on her plate, added crispy Tyrollean crab cakes with tartar sauce and Tantalus Six style flatbread with tomatoes and cheese. 'You guys really went all out, huh?'

'Ze captain, he said some-sing about making sings right for his friend,' Chekov intoned as Sayuri joined him in line, his brow knit in concentration to make sure he used the exact phrasing. 'I suppose he means sat he vishes to make sure ze party is eh-were-ee-sing Nurse Shapel deserves for her burst-day.'

'Oh, that's so nice of him.'

'Yeah, real nice,' Bones agreed absently as he saw Kirk at the opposite end of the room, talking with Kate and Joanna who had already filled their plates and were eagerly chatting and munching in equal measure. He had a sneaking suspicion he knew what had pushed the captain into putting on such a spread for Christine but he'd bide his time until he had an opportune moment.

* * *

The chance came when he was talking with Christine and Uhura while polishing off his second helping of Barilkian potato salad and a fried chicken sandwich; he sauntered over, reached into the inside pocket of his jacket.

'Hey, Bones, care to join me?'

Bones looked over, saw the captain holding up two slender cigars tinted a deep green and Kirk's eager look. 'Are those-'

'Tevelian plantain cigars, my man. Traded nearly a week's worth of my wet-showers with Chekov to get them but it's worth it.'

'Man, he's got some seriously sweet bartering skills to get things like this.' Bones took the cigar Kirk passed him, looked at Christine. 'You mind if-'

'No, not at all.'

'You sure? I mean, it's a party for your birthday I don't want you feeling like I ditched you or something.'

'Babe, go have a cigar with your friend.'

Bones kissed her cheek in response, stepped onto the balcony with Kirk; Christine gave a happy little sigh as she watched him go which made Uhura grin widely.

'Oh, Chrissy, I'm so happy for you guys! It's so cute to watch you two together, like…' Uhura searched for the word as she tugged a candied Tantalusian apricot off the toothpick with her teeth and chewed thoughtfully. 'Have you ever seen baby horses trying to walk?'

'Actually, I have, I walked in on Bones watching footage of one of his horses on the family farm give birth one afternoon.' Christine wrinkled her nose. 'It was so gross at first, but then really sweet. Is that what you mean?'

'No, dummy,' Uhura giggled, 'I mean it's like seeing the beautiful new creature find its footing and watching it stumble at first is kinda cute and entertaining, but then when it really learns the ropes, it's amazing.'

'Neither of us have been in a real relationship in a while and he told me…,' Christine admitted, then lowered her voice to add, 'he said that he hasn't been with anyone since we met.'

'Wow, that's…that's wow.' Uhura wasn't often at a loss for words but that one fairly did it. 'And I know you haven't, so…well, all I'll say is be prepared for a quick birthday shag.'

'We're not gonna just-'

'I mean, I'm fairly certain if I were in your shoes, no sex for over a year because the guy I really wanna do it with likes me that much back and waited just as long to be with me means that first time is gonna go like lightening because we're both so excited for it.'

'Ah, yeah, that.' Christine took a sip of her Klaavian sun-tea - damn, Chekov really did have a good hand with cocktails - and thought it over. 'Yeah, as romantic as I want it to be, and same with him, I think I'll have to agree with you. It'll be a sprint, not a marathon.'

'On the other hand, this is Bones we're talking about though, he's a strapping Southern stallion. And you know what they say about stallions.'

From their spot on the narrow balcony, Bones and Kirk admired the city-scape and the stars above and beyond as they enjoyed the smoked-cocoa taste of the Tevelian cigars, breathing deep the air; the weather generator had kicked up a nice breeze that was in keeping with the Earth seasons and carried the sweet promise of summer.

'This really has been an incredible night, Jim, thanks so much for doing this for her,' Bones told him, taking a sip of his bourbon.

'Actually, it was more for both of you,' Kirk confessed on a short laugh. 'I was feeling a little slimy still about what Spock and I did to you with the whole guys' night ambush last week.'

'Why? Your advice was what let things happen with her on our date night in the first place.'

'Yeah, but…' Kirk trailed off, took a pensive drag of his cigar as he studied the stars, the arc of the Tantalus Three moon orbiting near the satellite. 'I thought you were just hot for her, and that you guys would fall into bed right away. It never occurred to me that you're in love with her.'

Bones said nothing at first; what could he do when the captain so neatly hit the nail on the head? After another sip of his drink, another pull of his cigar, he replied, 'Why do you think I was sweating it so much? If I'd just wanted sex, I could have gotten that long ago, and with her it turns out.'

'You gonna tell her? Not the sex, the love part,' Kirk inquired, turning so his back faced the city and he and Bones could watch the party through the glass.

'I know how I feel, and that's enough for now. Christ, we've only been dating for what, a week? I go talking about love and she's gonna think I'm a needy desperate lunatic.'

'Bones, I'm pretty sure she already knows you're nuts. I mean, what kind of man serves in Star Fleet when they have a fear of flying?'

'The kind who has no other options left after the divorce leaves the skin peeled off his ass so it's red and raw as a blister.'

'But if you hadn't joined Star Fleet, you'd never have met Christine.'

'I don't even want to think about that,' Bones hissed with a shake of the head. He gazed through the glass and chuckled when he watched Christine say something that sent Sulu and Joanna into doubled-over fits of laughter. 'She makes me so happy, Jim.'

'I know, buddy.'

'I want to show her that, by giving her what we both deserve the first night we're together,' Bones added, his cheeks going a pale pink.

'Seriously? You haven't-'

'I told you, I was waiting for her birthday. And, it was also to get my own birth control injections back up and running,' he admitted on a small shrug. 'After I met her, couldn't stop thinking about her, I figured if I didn't have them there'd be less temptation to just-'

'Understandable,' Kirk cut him off before Bones could unabashedly overshare in the way he often did as a medical professional used to such talk in his work place. 'At the very least, did you get her something for her birthday to inspire the mood?'

Bones sent him a pained look as he finished his cigar. 'I'm a southern gentleman, and it doesn't matter if it is the Derby, the opera or the boudoir, my woman is always going to look good.'

Kirk's laugh was long and rich; he tapped his drink glass against Bones' and polished off what was left. 'Hey, do you know the stuff that Chekov put in the drinks he made for the toast? Everyone is saying they tasted different. Looked different too.'

'They are known as Balboa drops, when added to Samarian Sunset cocktails, they produce a rather interesting side effect.'

Both men turned to see Spock coming onto the balcony, his hands gripping the balcony lightly. 'Forgive my intrusion, Captain, Doctor. I did not mean to interfere in the conversation.'

'No, I was wondering the same thing myself,' Bones confessed; his eyebrows arched when the captain passed their Vulcan comrade a cigar and he accepted it, lighting the tip deftly. 'Didn't think you'd enjoy one of these.'

'It is Vulcan custom to burn incense during meditation and also during social gatherings to put the mind at ease.' Spock blew out a trio of perfectly round smoke rings. 'These are very close to what my father was fond of when I was a child.'

'Show off,' he muttered, then repeated his question. 'What are those drop things Chekov put in our drinks?'

'Balboa drops act on certain neural cortex processes so that there is a pathway created between certain tastes and pleasant memories. Because memories are as individualistic as the people who possess them, no two drinks are ever alike.'

'Huh.' Bones frowned in thought, took a drag on his cigar. 'Anywhere you can get those on this crystal ball?'

'I believe any place selling either liquor or smoking indulgences would have them.' Spock frowned. 'I heard as well Chekov make mention of something called Lucy Diamond tangerines, he was rather excited about them but I am unfamiliar with these.'

Now both Bones and Kirk perked up; Lucy Diamond tangerines were a Tantalus specialty that were available for legal purchase and ingestion by anyone able to eat fruit, however the inherent properties of the tangerines were something the citizens of all six Tantalus planets were used to while for the uninitiated palate they had a particular psychotropic effect.

'You tell him…' Bones paused to polish off his cigar, stamped out the stub in the ash-tray his cousin had left on the balcony. 'The moment he's got as many as he can legally bring back, I wanna see him.'

'Certainly, sir.'

'For now, let's go have some cake.'


	25. Edge of Glory

Bones slid the door open, stepped inside, and felt his heart stop a little when he saw Joanna sitting cozily on Christine's lap while they chatted up Chekov and Sulu, her arms around Christine's shoulders while Christine held her around the middle in a loose hug. He knew this to be a thing his daughter did with her friends to show their female sisterly bonds of affection, but seeing it done with Christine was a whole new level of family intimacy Bones hadn't anticipated. It was the same feeling of wholeness he'd felt at dinner the night before, where he felt that fleeting moment of shimmering silver perfection that this was what his life was supposed to be.

Crossing the room, he touched his hand to Christine and Joanna's shoulders and gave them each a kiss on top of the head. 'There were rumours of cake on the balcony.'

'There's cake?'

Joanna rolled her eyes at the question, swatted Christine lightly. 'Are you drunk? It's a birthday party, of course their is cake! And while we have cake, you get to open your gifts! Including Dad's, unless it's for grown-ups only, in which case, ew keep it to yourselves.'

'The cake was mine and Scotty's job,' Sulu said proudly, then shot Bones a semi-dirty look as he added, 'we'd kinda hoped you'd come with us to the diner yesterday so you'd tell us which one Christine would like best.'

'Why didn't you say so?'

'We didn't wanna spoil anything. The captain was adamant both of you be surprised. Shall I go fetch Scotty?'

But the inquiry was pointless as the lights dimmed and the chorus of the centuries old birthday song filled the room; Joanna slid off Christine's lap, camera at the ready to take video of the birthday girl getting her cake. And what a cake it was, Christine thought on a laugh. The slab of pastry was decorated with small fondant figures posed in a beach scene, but upon closer look the figures were actually the entire cast of characters present at the party. Scotty and Sulu were engaged in a vicious battle of beach volleyball against Chekov and Sayuri while Uhura, Joanna and Kate were parasailing on buttercream waves. On the far end of the toasted coconut beach, Kirk was building a sand-castle while rules-loving Spock sat in the lifeguard's tower, and there in the surf were Christine and Bones were playing with dolphins. Each person's swim-wear matched the colour of their Starfleet department, and the candy skin tone was a near spot on match; Christine could even see the small dimpled-cleft of Bones' chin, along with the line between his eyebrows, as though he were figuring out what to do with the dolphin.

'Make a wish, lassie!' Scottie told her, 'but dinnae share it, else it has no chance o' comin' true!'

Christine looked around at the happy faces, felt Bones' hands on her shoulders and gave a little sigh. _Patrick, I wish you were here to see this_ , she thought, and blew out the all the candles in a single go to the cheers of everyone. Someone passed her a knife to cut slice, and she made sure each guest got their own fondant figurine with their square; the cake turned out to be a light and fluffy shortcake with a key-lime custard filling that made the Floridian heart in Christine's chest flutter happily. Chekov even had some spiked margarita milkshakes whipped up in his blender in lieu of ice cream, with soft ones for the two minors.

Even better was despite the fact she was amongst her friends and co-workers, when she saw Bones licking his spoon and it made her thing of the delights that tongue had worked on her body. It made Christine's mind wander to that x-rated place where they were alone together wearing nothing but bedsheets and smile, and Bones was drizzling melted strawberry ice cream down her thigh, then licking it up until he reached her-

'Chris?'

'Yeah?'

'You still eating your cake?'

Christine glanced over, saw Uhura's barely smothered smile as she pointed at the plate that was tilting at a dangerous angle from her friend's hand. 'Oops.'

'It's okay, I know you've got things on your mind.'

'If you can still sink, zen it is time for von of zees.' Chekov appeared like a magician, brandishing refilled margarita glasses with the frosty treats. 'Al-zo, I sink I heard ze girls mention it is time for gifts.'

'Oh, no, you guys, this is already so much more than I could-'

'Christine, ve vonted to do zis for you, ze gifts ver my ideas,' Chekov told her, then sent Joanna a friendly smile as she came over with arms ladened parcels. 'Vould you like some help, _solnishko_?'

'Sure.'

By the time the boxes were arranged into a neat stack at the birthday girl's feet, Bones had come over to perch himself on the armrest of the chair she occupied while the rest of the party-goers gathered around. He brushed his hand over her back, grinned himself when he felt her hand touch his thigh; it was such a small gesture but it managed to send his libido straight into fourth gear even as Kate passed Christine the first gift to open.

'Open this one first,' she said, 'Jo and I pooled some cash to get you this one.'

Christine slid the ribbon off the gold and green box, lifted the lid to find a pair of stud earrings fashioned in the shape of shamrocks made of green crystal. She looked up to see Joanna's gleeful expression and shook her head. 'Couldn't resist, could you?'

'Really, really couldn't,' she agreed, bouncing over to give Christine a quick squeezing embrace before passing her another gift wrapped with sparkling yellow and orange striped recycled-paper. 'Here, I think this one is from Mister Sulu.'

It made Christine feel a little childish, ripping through the paper of the various presents and saying so many thank-yous the word started to lose its meaning for her. But as she saw the tokens of friendship they'd given her - amongst them, a pot of New Vulcan pumice from Spock, a mini bar kit from Chekov, and a disc of classical music from Scotty - she realized that those demons that had plagued her while she tried to sort out her feelings for Bones had largely been in her head. This group of people had flown blind to put together a birthday party for her and their gifts were as personal to her as if she'd given them a notarized list.

They'd done so much for her that her heart felt near to bursting with gratitude, but it was the handsome man with the not-so-permanent scowl on his face bringing over the oddly wrapped package that pushed it into a new stratosphere of emotion.

'Think you win the prize for the most original wrapping,' Kirk commented drily as he looked at the lopsided green package with the sweetly curled purple ribbon. 'Definitely looks like your handiwork.'

'Oh, shush,' Christine scoffed, running her finger along the seam to pop the adhesive tabs. She sucked in a sharp breath as the aroma hit her first - she'd know that smell anywhere - then let it out in a short squeal of joy as she shredded through the delicate horticulture foil. 'Oh, Leonard, wow! Oh wow, oh wow! Oh, it's perfect! It's just perfect!'

She feathered her fingers over the leaves, leaning forward to inhale the fragrance of the blossoms that would turn into fruit with the right care and cultivation; for a fleeting moment she was sad they weren't aboard the ship so she could run right off and put her new toy into the greenhouse. Around her, the rest of the crew was slightly baffled - they knew Christine loved gardening and that she loved collecting up plants for the greenhouse; clearly, though, this one had a particular significance to her.

'Uh, Christine? What's that one so special for?' Sulu inquired.

'It's a blueberry bush!' Christine all but sang it. 'It- well, suffice to say it's a very special thing to me.'

'First time I made her breakfast was blueberry pancakes, and when I found out there were no blueberry plants in her greenhouse, I figured it'd be a good surprise,' Bones explained, and they nodded in understanding.

'A good surprise is an extra slice of cake for free in the mess hall. This…' She turned to Bones, eyes glittering. 'This is exactly what I didn't know I wanted.'

She tugged the front of his shirt to pull him in for a steaming kiss that had a few whistles of appreciation going up from the small group, punctuated with Joanna's, 'ew Dad, quit it!' that made them all laugh.

'Thank you,' she murmured against his lips, felt him kiss her back once more.

'You can finish thanking me once everyone's gone,' he murmured, 'or since it's your birthday I'll thank you.'

* * *

Christine's happiness carried her through to the final gift, this one a solo offering from Joanna herself, which turned out to be a framed holo-snapshot of herself, Christine and Bones at the restaurant just the night before. With a promise to put it on her work station aboard the _Enterprise_ , Joanna and Kate stood up and informed the group that they were due back for their curfew, and as Kate was a Cygnusian every single officer present knew she'd be allowed to stay not a minute longer. After a round of hugs and Chekov and Sayuri promising to return the girls safely to their quarters, the two teenagers left which made the bubbles of anticipation begin to churn in both Christine and Bones. If it was the hour that guests were starting to leave, that would mean in short order, they would have the apartment to themselves.

It took nearly another hour, but slowly but surely the rest of the party crowd thinned, with only Spock Uhura and Kirk left at the end. The group of five friends sat in the living room, studying the wreckage which wasn't too terribly much despite what had seemed an endless stream of drinks, food and gifts to Christine. She sat beside Bones, his arm around her waist with her fingers playing over his as he listened to Spock's observations of the evening.

'I must say, Captain Kirk, you might be remiss in not listing social event co-ordination as one of your credentials,' he told him as he took a sip of his favoured Jack Daniels. 'Perhaps it is time to update your profile in the Star-Fleet databases.'

'Is he screwing with me?' Kirk muttered to Uhura, making them all laugh.

'No, I think he's just impressed how fast this all came together,' she replied as she polished off the last of her Klaavian sun-tea; her response made Bones sit up a little straight with his beady-eyed stare fixed on the communications officer.

'How _did_ you get it to come together? Not just the staff meeting, but getting into my cousin's apartment to plan it all?'

'Your cousin's in Star-Fleet, right?' Kirk shrugged. 'Why do you think I was letting an official command meeting interrupt my hard-earned shore leave? Had to figure out a way to get into the place today without tipping you guys off, now didn't I?'

'Clever bastard,' Bones muttered, felt his insides glow warm when Uhura patted Spock's knee. 'You heading out?'

'Yep, time for us to hit the hay.' Uhura rose, gave Christine a hug, whispering as she did so, 'I left a little something for you in your toiletries kit.'

'Thanks, Nina.'

Uhura kissed her friend's cheek, ushered Spock out the door as he inquired why they would find wheat sheafs waiting for them in their temporary quarters instead of beds which made the remaining three people laugh.

'How she puts up with him, I'll never know,' Bones commented.

'Because…' Christine trailed off, gulped a hasty mouthful of her drink. She'd been about to say _because the sex is great_ but thought the better of it. 'Because they're surprisingly good for each other. She's an open giving spirit and he's someone who likes the rules, they balance each other well.'

'Same with you guys,' Kirk pointed out, then pressed his palms to his thighs to help his balance as he rose, Christine and Bones doing the same. 'I'll be off too, I am looking forward to a chance to actually stay in bed longer than oh-six-hundred.'

'I know the feeling,' Bones said drily, pulling Christine just a little tighter; the move made Kirk's lips quirk in a barely-hidden smile.

'Happy birthday, Christine.'

Kirk gave her a little hug, and because he knew it would put just a little fire back in Bones' eyes after the rather mushy conversation they'd had on the balcony, gave her a smooch on the temple with a loud smacking noise. He slapped Bones once on the shoulder, then headed out and set the lock behind him.


	26. Insatiable

_Hey guys! Here is one of my favourite scenes to write so far in this story! Hope you like it as much as I do, and yes it is a longer one, but you'll understand why!_

* * *

Back in the living room, Christine and Bones looked at each other with a humming silence. They'd had moments alone like this in the last week - hell, even the night before had been anything but quiet - but there was something about tonight that felt extra special. Maybe it was because they were on shore-leave, or it was Christine's birthday, or Bones getting the much-needed boost of seeing his daughter. Maybe it was a combination of all three, added with some strong drinks courtesy of Chekov and an intimate party with their closest friends.

Whatever the case Bones called for the stereo-system to be turned on and the music was low and bluesy as he stepped close to Christine, put his wide hand to the small of her back to pull her in for a dance.

'Every woman should go dancing on her birthday,' he told her, turning her in a slow circle. 'Did you enjoy my bush?'

Christine snickered, Bones joining in when he realized what he'd said. 'Dirty.'

'You like it.'

'Yeah, you bet your ass I do. And a blueberry _plant_ -' she put special emphasis on the word '-is the perfect addition to the greenhouse. Don't worry, the first harvest of berries we use from my beautiful gift will be for pancakes.'

'And what about my other gifts?'

'Other gifts?' Christine lifted her eyebrows and Bones gave her a kiss. 'There's more than my bush?'

'Funny you should say that. Come with me.'

Bones linked his fingers with hers, tugged her towards the bedroom where despite the privacy of their surroundings he still shut the door and set the privacy mode. He hoped his next move didn't come across as needy or desperate as he found the bag he'd tucked into a dark corner of the closet, then turned back to Christine and held it out to her. 'A little something for you and me.'

Christine had to snicker; apparently Joanna's radar had been spot on once more as he studied the purple bag with the stamped-bronze outline of a fairy and the swirling initials JF beneath the image. 'How'd you know my size?'

'That's where being a medical professional comes in handy. Having handle more than my share of breasts exams on patients means…' Bones trailed off, went red as the frosting on the cake. 'That doesn't sound good at all.'

'Not really,' Christine laughed; once again he was getting all flustered which just made her attracted to him even more.

'What I should have said was…' He paused, brushing his fingers over her cheek before slipping them around to the back of her head to pull her close for a kiss. 'Having spent the last few days getting to know every last bit of your body, I have a perfect idea of what fits you.'

'Much better.'

'You get changed, I'm going to use the washroom for a moment.'

Bones kissed her forehead, then nipped into the bathroom attached to the main bedroom; he stripped off his shirt and socks, then splashed some cold water on his face and stared at his dripping reflection. For second he felt like the nineteen year-old boy he'd been his first time, a fresh-faced farm kid too clumsy with girls to be thought of as anything more than a sweet local boy until he got to Ole Miss where he'd been a veritable magnet for women. Why was he so anxious, he asked himself silently, but the question was as obvious as the answer; Christine brought something out in him that made him feel like that nineteen year old so excited to see a woman naked in his bed, warm and melting and wanting only him. Every touch, innocent or otherwise, every sensation that she stirred in him was like rediscovering sex all over again.

Grabbing a towel, he patted his face dry and returned to the bedroom where his heart nearly stopped. Christine had dimmed the lights and was stretched on her side on the bed; her curvy body was tucked into the smoked-lilac camisole and panties. He'd been tempted to go for something more outrageous to suit his prurient fantasies but Bones knew that with Christine, their best moments were their best because of their authenticity and simplicity.

'And here I thought it was your birthday, not mine,' he told her as she sat up, kissing her deeply. He could smell that smell of lemon pie that he'd always begun associating with Christine, and it made him give her bottom lip a little nip with his teeth. 'Could just eat you up in great big bites.'

'That sounds like a great way to start my birthday,' she replied, heart pounding in her chest wildly at his body so casually displayed for her viewing pleasure. 'Mmm, you look like that, makes me wanna eat you up too, babe.'

'Well then.'

Bones moved his hands down her back, cupping her ass and boosting her so he could tip her back against the bedsheets and range himself over her. He found her hands, clasped them in his as he fused his lips to hers; she tasted of the sweet cake and the spiked tea they'd been drinking. Bones let out a low moan in his throat as he trailed kisses over her jaw, her cheek, down the side of her neck.

Christine closed her eyes as the desire for her man began to flow like fresh lava for his attention to her body. This was the real gift this year for her birthday, the intimate connection with a lover that she'd begun longing for nearly a year before, not just in a sexual manner but the connection they shared beyond their mutual attraction. She let her fingers curl gentle through his hair, sighing at the sensation of his lips on her skin; a little chuckle escaped her own when she felt the soft pressure on her shoulder and she realized he was tugging at the strap with his teeth. The laugh turned into a sigh when his teeth were replaced by the stiffened tip of his tongue and he traced it back up to her mouth where his kiss made her brain fizz once more.

Bones groaned as Christine's hips wriggled against his, causing his own arousal to build and the fabric of his jeans to tight. He made what he considered a monumental effort and rose to strip off the rest of his clothes, then shook his head when Christine's hands slipped to the edge of the camisole she wore.

'No,' he told her gently but firmly in a voice rusted with growing lust, 'no, I wanna unwrap you myself.'

Heat, like white-hot lightening, lanced itself through Christine's whole body; she dropped her hands above her head and revelled in the sensation of Bones' solid body on hers, the shape of it a perfectly complement to her curves. The smile spread slow across her face as she felt his hands join hers, his mouth finding hers once more. His tongue twined with hers, making her shiver in anticipation; the heat had pooled between her thighs and she shifted her hips so her thighs could cradle him.

Bones felt the swell of her breasts against his body, her pebble hard nipples beneath the silk fabric; he ran his mouth down her neck once more, only this time instead of going back up, he trailed kissed down between her breasts. He paused a moment, let go over hands so he could put a palm to her cheek.

'Don't move,' he murmured to her and sat back so he could peel the camisole up her body and over her head, sighing in pure appreciation at the sight of her body. 'You are so beautiful, Christine.'

'Thank you, I- ohhh.'

The moan was deep as Bones once more lower his mouth to her body, this time kissing her between her breasts before closing his mouth over the left one. His tongue rolled gently over its heated peak as he circled the pad of his thumb over its mate as Christine's fingers clutched into his shoulder, the back of his head. She tasted so sweet, his own lemon-pie angel, as he lost himself in sensation; when he moved his mouth to her other breast, he felt her hips move against his body and he realized she was still wearing her bottoms.

'Still too many layers. Let's fix that, shall we?'

Christine nodded; she didn't trust herself that her voice would be anything more than a squeak right now. She could feel each of her senses surrendering, everything going to a place of taste and touch - the feel of his hands running up her legs, the gentle pressure of his fingers tugging the silky bottoms downwards, the pounding of her heart in her ears as his lips dabbed kisses in pairs first on her left left then her right. When he stopped a whisper from her honeypot, Christine groaned in frustrated pleasure.

'Why'd you stop?' she asked in a breathy tone that made Bones' hormones zip wildly under his skin.

'So I can watch your eyes when I do this.'

Keeping his gaze locked on hers, Bones ran his hand down the centre of her body until he found her secretive lips, lushly wet and ready for his touch. He watched Christine's eyes glaze over, her mouth falling open soundlessly as he played his fingers over her, stroking and teasing; she let out a small gasp as his middle finger slipped into her vault, then slowly out again.

'Oh, god, yes, Leonard.' She moaned his name, let out a little gasp as a second finger joined the first; the pressure was just enough to be pleasing. Her hand reached out blindly, and she found herself gripping his well-muscled bicep. 'Feels so good, so…so good.'

Christine licked her drying lips, lifted her hand to his face. 'Now you watch me.'

Bones swallowed tightly as he saw her softly suck on her fingers, then slide them down to join his own to stroke her trigger. For a fleeting moment he wondered how he'd be able to hold on so that he could bury himself inside her. Discreetly, he nudged her hand out of the way, replacing her own touch with his thumb and Bones saw her eyes pop wide as the sudden orgasm rocked through her body. She clenched around him, her body shaking as she moved against his hand, her head rocking back and forth side to side.

'Christine, look at me,' he told her, saw her dark blue eyes clear as her mind began to clear from the first climax. Bones had to fight to draw in air so he wouldn't feel like that teenage boy all over again and go off on his lover's belly before he could barely be inside her. He took her hand, kissed her palm sweetly before guiding it down to close around his member. 'Help me?'

That he phrased it as a question to her made Christine's heart melt into a puddle, and she felt her belly quiver a little with nerves she hadn't realized were there; for a moment she felt like it was her first time all over again, as though her body was bracing for the impact of his. But as she positioned him so his tip teased her lips she saw the look in his eyes and knew there was more, as there always with him.

'Hold onto to me, Leonard,' she told him, a tremble in her voice, 'don't let go.'

'Never.'

With that, Bones fused his mouth to hers and gave a slow thrust forward of his hips, filling her and joining with her in a perfect medley of his animal lust and his affection for her.

So sweet, so wet and warm, he thought as he braced his weight on his elbows so that his hands were free to comb through the loose strands of her hair as he set a slow, sensual rhythm for them both. She matched his strokes measure for measure, each thrust making her gasp a little more each time; Bones could feel her fingernails dig lightly into his shoulders as she clutched at his back.

It wasn't possible, Christine thought, as her knees hooked over his hips and she felt every fresh movement like a shock wave through her body. It wasn't possible there could be more than what he'd already made her feel and yet nothing before this moment even came close to what she felt. Lights burst inside her skull like fireworks as her body moved with his, and she whispered dirty sweet-nothings in his ear that made Bones feel like a god.

'Feels so good, Leonard, so good, I- oh…oh my god, oh god…oh…yes!'

She felt her body suddenly jolt as Bones changed his angle ever so slightly, resulting in the unexpected release of another orgasm. Yet this one didn't sate either of them; rather, it spurred them both on.

'Christine, I want you on top, I wanna…god, that feels so fucking good,' Bones interrupted himself as he felt her shudder against him. He kissed her mouth, her cheeks, anywhere he could find. 'I wanna feel you there.'

With deft moves, he held Christine close and rolled them so that Bones was half-propped against the headboard, his own back arching as Christine dragged her fingernails lightly over his chest as she began to move on top of him once more. He ran his hands up and down her back as she took him into a whole new universe of sensation. When his hands landed on her hips to keep her in place, he closed his eyes so he could listen to her voice as she moaned his name louder and louder with every passing second.

'Oh, god Leonard! Len…oh! Oh god, Leonard, yes, don't stop, babe, please don't stop!'

Christine wasn't even sure how she still had the brain power to say anything at all; she'd been certain he'd already melted her mind into an irreparable pile of jelly after two orgasms. Surely, there couldn't be more he'd-

'Oh god! Yes! Right there! Right…right…there!'

But there was, she realized, as Bones sat up, holding her close so she was all but in his lap, his mouth fusing to hers to swallow her screams of delight as she felt that shift once more in her body, like the build-up of a tidal wave that threatened to pull her under. She moaned deeply as Bones' pace suddenly increased, and pressing her hand to his chest she realized he was nearing his own glorious finish too.

'Come with me,' she sighed into his ear, 'come with me. I wanna feel you come inside me, Leonard.'

For Bones, it was more than enough to send him over the edge. Everything about this night, of having this moment with Christine when he thought he'd never get the chance at so much as a date with her never-mind lovemaking on her birthday, had seemed like an impossible dream even two weeks before. Now here he was with her, his lemon-pie angel Christine, naked and entwined in the throes of passion and giving more of himself to her than he ever thought possible.

But it was still her birthday, and Bones always remembered his manners. He kissed her hotly once more, whispered in her ear, 'Ladies first.'

Christine barely had time to catch her breath before Bones' hand slid between their bodies and he found her trigger once more; she let out a long throat sound as the orgasm all but shattered her, curling her toes off the bed and her fingers into his shoulders as her system scrambled madly to keep her from losing her mind at what she felt. She clung to him, keeping him close as her body rocked violently against him in a glorious cresting wave of pleasure. Him, Christine thought fleetingly, it was for him and only him.

Bones couldn't take it any longer, and on a single magnificent yell, he turned his face into the smooth column of her throat and let go of the greasy threads of control he'd been clinging to. The climax ripped through him like a tsunami, burying reason and rational thought so that he was lost in her as he emptied himself into her. So intense was the sensation of such passion that he felt his vision blur, then clear as the last drops drained from him and he felt her arms change from clutching at him to embracing him.

Neither spoke at first, they just let the only sound in the room be their ragged breathing as they stayed propped up against the pillows against the headboard. It wasn't until Christine felt a tiny little drop on her shoulder that she looked up, and felt the beautiful sunset afterglow of indescribable lovemaking threaten to vanish as she saw the crystalline shimmer in Bones' eyes.

'Leonard, what- what's wrong?' she asked, panic seeping into every syllable; it morphed from terror into pleasure when Bones kissed her, held her close.

'I love you Christine,' he told her, 'and I'm not saying that because we just made love, or because it's your birthday, it's because I do. I've been falling in love with you since the day we met and-'

Whatever corny speech he might have given her was cut short when she kissed him back, holding his face her her hands the way she was fond of doing to get her point across.

'I love you too, Leonard. God,' she laughed, 'it feels so good to say that, I've…I've wanted to say that for so long.'

'It's not too soon?' When Christine shook her head, Bones let out a little breath, began to laugh. 'Some people we know might say it finally took us long enough.'

'My thoughts exactly.' She leaned forward so her forehead bumped with his. 'There's no pinpoint moment, it's just always there, like how I know the sky is blue and I'm from Florida and that underneath that prim and proper Star-Fleet uniform was a raging beast of a lover.'

'You knew that, even before we got together?'

Christine nodded proudly. 'Call it a hunch, or feminine intuition.'

'And?'

'I…think…you…were…' She drew out the words, dotting his lips with kisses between each one. 'Sensational.'

'Really.'

The tone in Bones' voice was seeking reassurance but challenging her for more, Christine realized, and she wiggled her hips against his. It was only then she realized they were stilled joined, so she leaned forward and braced her hands against the headboard. 'Best I've ever had. Nothing before this could be called sex. I've had partners, but you're my only lover.'

'Agreed, one hundred percent. Hey, I think Chekov squirrelled away some champagne for us to have just for us.' Energized with the knowledge that Christine returned his love, Bones gently slid Christine from his lap and popped out of bed, casually padding towards the door in his bare feet. 'Be right back.'

Christine smiled as his naked retreating form, then flopped forward into the pillows and let out a little squeal of delight. He loved her, was all she could think, he loved her; she hadn't even thought twice about saying it back, and neither did it feel like some desperate or cheesy move on his part. Just like their first kiss, their first touch, their first everything, it felt like the fulfilment of a long desired wish that had the ability to surprise them both when it was granted.

Getting up, she went to the ensuite bathroom and went into her toiletries kit - Bones mentioning Chekov leaving a little gift for them had recalled to Christine's mind Uhura's parting words to her best friend. Curious as to what had been left, she lifted the lid on her bag and had to laugh; inside she found some travel-sized vials of intimate gel flavoured in, what else, lemon pie and wild-berry, along with vouchers for the store from where they were purchased along with coupons for discounts on other intimate products such as cos-play lingerie and toys.

Returning to the bedroom, she saw Bones had indeed found champagne and was pouring them two glasses while buck-ass nude. 'Look what Uhura left for me. Well us, but you understand.'

'Let's see?' Bones passed her a stemless wine-glass, trading it for the vial in her hand to read the label. 'Flavoured warming lubricant and massage gel. Think she knew this would be happening tonight?'

'I think everyone did, but then again, I think the fact they put together a party for me and surprised us both says something about their thoughts on that too.'

'Agreed.' Bones tapped his glass to hers. 'Happy birthday, my love.'

'It has indeed been a happy birthday so far, my love,' she replied, bubbles of excitement bursting and fizzing in her belly like the champagne she drank as she made a point of looking at the time on the wall-unit. 'And it's only oh-two-ten. Wonder how the next twenty-two hours are gonna play out, I mean they have a lot to live up to. And speaking of things going…up.'

She took another long swig of champagne, pointed delicately at the vials in his hand. 'How long until we can use those?'

'Damn it Christine, I'm a doctor, not a sex machine,' he teased her, then swallowed tightly as she gave him one of her trademark appraising looks, only this time he really was naked as she did it. 'And now that we've got that romantic first round on the books, you might wanna drink up so you're a little drunk for what comes next.'

'That a challenge?'

'A promise.'

Christine's inside fluttered madly as he stepped closer, kissed her cheek in the way he always liked to do and whispered in her ear, 'I told you the last thing you'd have on your mind was sympathy in our bed.'

'Oh I believed you,' she replied, 'and the way you tease me is one of many reasons why I love you.'

Bones' heart did a happy hiccup against his ribs; taking their glasses, he set them aside and tugged her towards the bed. 'I love you right back. Now let me show you.'


	27. Got Love

The following morning, Christine awoke from the blissful sleep of the well-rested and very satisfied; she could feel him before she was fully aware she'd woken up. Moving her eyes around she found she was curled on her side and facing Bones; for a moment she watched his face, so peaceful and relaxed in sleep - probably the only time he had a break from everything in his busy mind - and had to bite the inside of her cheek so she wouldn't risk laughing and waking him as she saw the way his lips puffed out when he exhaled. The sound made her think of horses, and remembered that he'd grown up with them, had more than likely spent a few nights in the stalls with them and inadvertently picked up a few of their traits. It wasn't entirely implausible - Christine often caught herself doing things she'd seen Patrick doing, like dotting her initials with a stylus on a PADD in reverse order, or standing on one foot at the kitchen counter.

It struck her then, watching him sleep, how much of a babyface Bones hand, how despite the mature masculine angles there was a softness to his cheeks, his mouth that belied the twelve year gap between them. Nothing aged about that body, though, she thought smugly, her gaze traveling downwards towards where the rest of him was forming a small peak with the sheets.

'Three times,' she murmured with a happy little song in her voice, 'you really are a sex machine, huh?'

'Damn right I am.'

Christine let out a little impatient sigh as Bones opened his eyes, a slow sexy smile unrolling over his lips. 'I didn't wanna wake you up.'

'Got that backwards, babe, I was already awake and just wanted to watch you a little while you slept.' He reached up and touched her lips. 'I never manage to make things like that sound smooth, do I?'

'I like it better this way, with you being all flustered.'

'Seriously?'

'Uh-huh,' she nodded, scooting closer to kiss him. 'When things started to happen last week, especially that morning you came out in nothing but your pants which I kinda suspect you did on purpose-'

'Not at all. I wasn't sure when you'd be up and I felt a little embarrassed you'd seen me half-dressed and might think I was trying to trick you or something. But the kiss, right before your shower, now that was on purpose.'

Christine laughed happily as Bones inched towards her; he was close enough that she hooked her knee over his hip to keep him near. 'Riddle me this, you any good at playing poker?'

'I'm no Doc Holliday but I wouldn't get kicked out of the saloon as a greenhorn, why?'

'Because I figured out one of your sexual tells.' At his curious look, Christine explained her theory on the way he kissed her on the cheek, which made Bones simply roll on top of her with the same grin in place.

'You're absolutely right,' he told her, nudging her thighs open with his knee and pressing himself against her; he saw her eyes go wide and dark with anticipation. 'Because when I do that, I'm really wishing we had time for this.'

Their lovemaking was slow this time, almost lazy at how they took their time to wake both the body and the senses until the end when it became a duet of quiet moans and whispered reassurances of love and affection. When Bones let his weight slacken, sink into Christine, he pressed his cheek to her breasts so he could hear the thunderclap of her heartbeat.

'I love you,' she murmured to him.

'I love you too,' he replied, his lips sticking a little to her breast as he spoke. 'This…this is so great, Chris, it really is.'

'The best part is that we have no plans for today, we can do this all day if we want.'

'Oof, sounds like fun, but I did have an idea of something to do.'

'More surprises?'

'Actually, this is the one that I refused to tell Jo about at dinner the other night,' Bones told her; suddenly energized, he popped up and went to his suitcase to retrieve the small box he'd hidden there. Climbing back onto the bed, he watched her sit up cross-legged and tug the ribbon from the small box. When she lifted the lid, her face lit up with melting joy.

'Oh, Leonard, it's gorgeous,' she exclaimed as she lifted the necklace out of the box to better exam it - the chain was just a simple silver thread, it was the pendant that was the focus. The precious metal had been worked into the shape of a dolphin, curling its body into a C-shape and balancing a blue crystal on its bottle nose. 'Help me?'

'Of course,' he replied, taking the delicate chain from the box and carefully looping it around her slender neck to fasten it. It had been far easier than he thought to find the trinket for her than he'd anticipated; with Sulu's advice ringing fresh in his ears he'd stepped into the jewellery shop to see a display of charms that promoted the satellite's new aquarium. It was like it was meant to be when he'd seen the dolphins each bearing a different coloured stone. 'I know you're born in May which makes your birthstone emeralds but I saw the blue and thought of our swim date with the dolphins, and of course your eyes.'

'It's beautiful.' Christine hugged him tight, popped out of bed. 'Come shower with me, we'll freshen up in that suntan torture tube then go do that surprise.'

* * *

A short while later, after freshening up and a lovely down-home farmhouse breakfast as Bones had termed it of scrambled eggs and bacon with toast and juice, they walked out of the apartment complex and into the atrium where according to Earth's calendar it was Monday. By the Tantalus system's calendar, it was the Persephonic Solstice, and the whole place seemed to have tripled in its people volume overnight. The atrium seemed to have been turned into some ancient Greek agora, with booths and stalls set up at intervals around the main concourse, with beings of all origins chattering loudly and gesturing wildly as they made purchases.

'Where did everyone come from?' Bones inquired as he and Christine kept their hands linked as much for practicality of not getting separated in the swam as for a show of casual public intimacy.

'It's the Perseophinic Solstice, also know as the end of the winter harvest, so all the farm workers in the different system planets are here to let loose. It's like their shore leave,' Christine explained, making Bones remember that for all her sophistication his girlfriend had a farming soul. 'The main things being harvested would be Lucy Diamond oranges, root vegetables, apples, berries and of course pomegranates.'

'That explains all the grocery sacks.' Bones frowned as he saw a tall Tyrollean woman, easily distinguished by her golden-peach skin and the discreet breathing gills near her ears, pulling what appeared to be three live squid in jars from her monstrously sized hand-bag. 'Is she paying in octopus?'

'She is,' Christine confirmed, shrugging as they headed for the glass-fronted lift. 'Most people in our Earth quadrant's neighbouring systems are fond of that old-time farm practice of trading goods for goods so both parties each come away with something of tangible value. Especially the Tyrolleans, they are a sea-faring society and put the emphasis on how great a value something has in the market by what you ask to trade for it.'

'My grandaddy told me stories all the time how his great-great-grandaddy would turn a calf or foal a mare for a cut of timber to keep them warm in the winter, or some meat or whatever when they went hunting, grain for the horses.'

'Speaking of farm animals…' Christine punched the button in the lift for the aquarium's level. 'At some point today, Tim is going to be calling to wish me happy birthday, so don't get all weird if he asks to talk to you and puts you through the wringer like you'd do to one of Joanna's dates, okay?

'Wouldn't happen,' Bones sniffed, 'no teenage boy is getting near my daughter. I used to be one of those creepy disgusting things, believe me none of them are so much as smiling at her when she walks into the classroom.'

'The point is,' Christine giggled as Bones' scowl deepened over the prospect of his precious baby girl dating, 'If you think meeting a girl's dad is a scary proposition, you have no idea what it is like meeting my little-big brother.'

'Little-big?'

'Yeah, Patrick was big-big brother and Tim is little-big brother. And I'm little ol' me.'

'Who is all mine.'

Christine's insides went gooey as a melted Tantalusian fig as he dipped his head down to brush his lips delicately over hers; since they were alone in the express elevator, she put her hand to Bones' cheek and kept him tight against her, his lips moving from sweet and tender to fire-fuelled. She was becoming so lost in him that she didn't register the lift doors opening or the presence of the body on the other side.

'Oh, goody, that's just what I needed to start my day.'

Bones gulped down an air bubble of surprise as Christine pulled away from him in shock, her blue eyes round as marbles as she stared at the rail-thin man in his mid thirties in the natty Earth-style suit, clutching the strap of his office bag and grinning foolishly to reveal small white teeth. Beside him, Christine let out a short screeching squeal, threw her arms around the stranger.

'Timo!'

Christine forgot herself entirely and rained kisses over her brother's face as his deceptively wide hands held her close. 'What are you doing out here?'

'Grand-Boss sent me to check in on the harvest production, since it's our first year doing a trading partnership of product.'

'And you couldn't have told me when I was talking to you a week ago?'

'I was hoping to surprise you for your birthday, Iggy, and looks like I did,' she replied, his mop of silver-and-gold curls bobbing as he shook his head while his eyes danced merrily; Bones recognized this as a family trait immediately, then shook the offered hand, the watch discreetly concealing most of the starfish tattoo he knew to be a twin to Christine's. 'Tim Chapel, deputy chief of production for Chapel Fruits and big brother to the birthday girl. You must be Doctor McCoy.'

'Indeed I am, please to meet you little-big brother.'

'Ah, Iggy told you about that huh?' Tim grinned broadly as he entered the lift with them, punched in the floor two higher than the aquarium. 'She tell you anything else about me?'

'Only the good stuff.'

'Smooth, must be that down-home Kentucky charm you boys are born with,' Tim replied, his friendly face going ever so slightly cool, making Bones' throat tighten like a snare-drum; it was gone in an instant as he turned his attention back to his sister. 'So, listen, I'm on my way to a meeting but maybe we can go out for dinner tonight to celebrate your birthday?'

'Oh, um, I-'

'We're staying at my cousin's apartment while we're on leave and I was planning to do a birthday dinner for Christine there tonight, so why don't you bring yourself and a good bottle of something to drink and I'll provide my charming self and your sister with her good name intact.'

'Sounds great.'

The elevator doors whisked open, and Bones and Christine stepped off, weaving their way to the railing overlooking the atrium as school-aged children went shrieking by. She turned to him, put her slightly-trembling hand over his. 'I know you have something nice planned for us, but do you think it-'

'Chris, believe me, I'm not turning down the chance to spend time with your family. Not after you were so awesome with Joanna the last few days. Besides, this could be a great way to get some of my own back after you two got up to your feminine tricks at the steak-house a few nights ago.' Bones pulled her in for a quick reassuring hug. 'I do have a question though.'

'Sure.'

'Iggy?'

Christine's lips formed a little O of embarrassment and her cheeks went a flattering shade of cherry. 'That's Tim being a dork. When I was born, he couldn't say my name all that well so he called me Iggy.'

'How in the blue Ferengi hell do you get Iggy out of Christine?'

'Because my full name on my birth record is Maria Agnieszka Christine Chapel. Mom's family is Polish, Dad's is Irish-French. I couldn't say Timmy so he was Timo and he called me Iggy.'

'That's so cute, I may vomit,' Bones replied, making Christine's already pink cheeks turn neon glowing red. 'Hey, if it helps, the H of Leonard H. McCoy stands for Haldir.'

'Haldir?' Christine gave him a look of utter bafflement. 'I thought it was Horatio or Hawthorne. I remember you saying your mama is a professor of English literature at U-Lou, so I figured the H was from that horn-pipe guy or something.'

'Horatio Hornblower?' Bones chuckled and shook his head. 'Nope, my mama is all about the high fantasy. Hell, she was even named after a heroine form the Tolkien epics and those are her favourites, so she gave me and my brother names from the stories. I was named after…'

'After what?'

Now it was Bones' turn to blush. 'After her favourite elf. Leonard Haldir McCoy.'

'That's so cute I may vomit,' Christine echoed, slipping her hand into his and squeezing reassuringly as they made their way to the aquarium. 'Was your brother victimized in a similar way?'

'Jonathan lucked out, he got a human name. Jonathan Eomer McCoy, and I've seen the old vids. Eomer was a handsome man, and what do I get? Some pointy-eared bastard who looks like he could be one of Spock's ancestors.'

'Aww, poor baby. Maybe we go look at some fish and sharks to take your mind off things?'

'Sharks are fish.'

'There have dolphins too, don't forget.' Christine toyed gently with the pendant he'd given her that morning. 'I know how much you love dolphins.'

'This right here?' Bones kissed her temple as they filtered into the queue for tickets. 'Remember this tonight.'

'Why?'

'So when you call me out for being mean at dinner with your brother tonight, you won't be pissed off with me too much if I remind you how much you were teasing me.'

'It's my birthday, believe me, I have much _much_ better ways of making you steam today,' she replied softly, making Bones grind his teeth in frustration at first, then he returned her flirtatious smile.

'I know we've only been really dating about a week, but I've been flirting with you for a year. Trust me, your moves are just as effective any other day of the week.'


	28. Head Over Feet

The sudden change of plans in the day-of birthday festivities did little to dampen Christine or Bones' spirits; indeed it added to the happiness of the day that Christine would get to see some of her family in the flesh. Yet despite knowing they were having a guest at their temporary place, both were surprisingly relaxed.

 _Must be the new and exciting really good sex_ , Bones thought as he unpacked the groceries they'd picked up in the market which made the chef in him happy beyond measure. Real food, pulled from the ground and the trees and not conjured into existence by some cosmic microwave oven, always made the best meals. He thought of the times when Kenney would nag at Christine about the selection of produce in the greenhouse, and had new appreciation for the man's pains.

As he rinsed bits of moss-green earth from carrots, onions and something the Tantalusians called pine-potatoes that seemed to resemble yams, Bones heard Christine talking to her brother; she was giving him instructions on finding their location when his own PADD signalled. Sighing in partial annoyance, partial impatience, Bones dried his hands and was set to answer a call from Joanna, then ground his teeth when he saw Mel's name blinking on the incoming-call ID. Knowing it would be a worse hell to ignore her, he tapped the green button lightly and smiled neutrally.

'Mel, what can I do for you?'

'I need money for Joanna's school break.'

'For what, exactly? Isn't she home there with you?'

'No, she going away with a friend's family for a few days and I need to send her with some spending cash. Unlike you, I'm actually responsible when it comes to our daughter.'

'You mean our daughter Joanna who is already on vacation _off-planet_ with her friend's family, who I've already seen here on the Tantalus satellite three times in two days, who spent the day at the spa with my girlfriend and then had dinner with us, and came to Christine's birthday party?'

Mel rolled her dark brown eyes, not even bothering to look uncomfortable about being discovered in her lies and in Bones' mind actually had the audacity to look offended. 'You let our daughter go off with some tramp you're fucking like it's no big deal?'

'You let her leave the fucking planet without telling me, Melanie, she's my daughter I have a legal right to know what is going on about major decisions like that. What if something had happened to her out here, huh? Would you have told me before or after she was in the hospital?'

'I'm her mother, Leonard,' Mel retorted, as if this were some sort explanatory catch-all. 'And you're a deadbeat father who-'

'Call me that again and you will get a visit from my lawyer, Mel,' Bones lashed out, 'because from what I hear, you're not winning any prizes for Mother of the Year back there.'

'Ugh, that girl is so melodramatic somedays, you don't actually believe her, do you?'

Bones' response was a stony stare, his voice the kind of calm seen in coiled snakes right before a kill-strike. 'Mel, I have plans right now and I have no intention of giving you any more money. Joanna already has her vacation cash which she _showed_ me _two days_ ago, and I'm in the middle of making my smart sexy girlfriend who I love dearly her birthday dinner so right now you can fuck right off and quit nagging me!'

Before he could let her so much as inhale to tell him off, Bones ended the call and stalked away from it lest he end up hurling it against the wall in rage. There was nothing and no one in the universe that riled him in the way his ex-wife did; Bones often found it a struggle to remember a time when she wasn't the bane of his existence. He had other things to worry about at present, namely to make a good impression on his girlfriend's brother.

Still, as he peeled carrots and onions, Bones couldn't resist a little more violent than necessary with his kitchen tools just to vent his frustration. He'd been cooking long enough that he wasn't worried about taking on a digit - it was more likely a stray thought that took him far away from the moment would be more likely to-

'Leonard? Everything alright?'

Bones turned around, felt his anger ebb instantly at seeing Christine in a flowing knee-length tunic the colour of Floridian oranges and skin-tight charcoal-coloured leggings; she'd left her feet bare upon changing and he could see the pedicure making her toes sparkle.

'Mel called,' he replied honestly, and was relieved to see the understanding in her eyes, 'and she was her usual manipulative self. She told me she wanted me to send her money for Joanna's break to go on her vacation with her friend's family, not knowing I've already seen her-'

'Or the fact at all that she was off-planet. Wow.' Christine shook her head, crossed to him to take his face in her hands and kiss him lightly. 'She really is that rotten, huh?'

'She called me a dead-beat daddy,' Bones told her quietly, and the hurt in his voice said volumes more than any blustering rage could have. 'She doesn't know what I do, what I make sure I do for her halfway across the galaxy, it-'

'Shh, shh, it's okay, it's okay babe.' Now she soothed him with her hands moving in wide sweeping circles across his back to assuage his tension. 'You know who you are, Joanna knows who you are and that's what matters.'

'And what matters right now is that I don't let my ex get in my head so I ruin your birthday.'

'I have you, and I love you,' she replied simply, 'how could it be ruined?'

'I love you too, Christine. Or should I say Iggy?'

'If you're my brother.'

'Definitely not your brother,' he replied, flashing a grin as he kissed her. 'Seem to remember having that same conversation the first time we spent the night at your place.'

'That was a fun night.'

'Tonight will be even more fun.'

Bones pulled her in tight for one more kiss, this time putting a little extra kick into the way his lips fused with hers, the way he slid his hands down her back to hold her tight against his body. He lightly nipped her lower lip in a way that made her squeak, then let her go. 'Wanna help me make the dinner this time?'

'Oh, I dunno if that's a good idea,' Christine laughed, 'I love good food but I am no chef by any stretch. You know how Jo teases you about things with buttons?'

'Yeah.'

'That's how Tim teases me about being in the kitchen.'

'Well, then…' Bones kept an arm around her waist as he moved them back into the kitchen. 'Consider your first ever cooking lesson a bonus birthday gift from me.'

'If you're prepared to spend my birthday stitching me up, you betcha,' Christine giggled, but gamely disinfected her hands and donned an apron. She considered herself a smart capable independent woman, and that smart and capable woman also knew when to concede to an expert and in most things kitchen related she was prepared to give way at the first possible chance.

Still, it was another avenue of first with her boyfriend, Christine knew, and Bones turned out to be an excellent teacher. His style made her see why Joanna loved him so much - he was patient without being condescending and if she asked what she felt was a silly question, like what was the difference between a yam and a sweet potato or why Cygnusian strawberries tasted sweeter than Earth strawberries. Not once did he criticize the way she measured her flour in quarter teaspoons for the sauce he was making, or roll his eyes when they had to restart the batter for the cake he insisted they needed even after her beautiful masterpiece from the night before.

When the doorbell sounded, Bones gave her cheek a quick kiss and left her to babysit the mixing bowl whirring with the beater while he welcomed in Tim with a wide grin.

'Hey there, doc,' he grinned, holding out the bottle of liquor and a bag that had tufts of sparkling green paper poking out the top. 'I come from the far east, bearing gifts for the blessed girl-child! Where is our birthday princess?'

'In the kitchen,' Bones started, then clammed up upon seeing Tim's bug-eyed expression. 'Why?'

'You left her in the kitchen unsupervised?'

'Yeah, we're making her birthday dinner together.'

'Good thing my vaccines are up to date,' Tim made another face, and when Bones heard Christine bellow, he knew both Chapel siblings were having him on.

'Heard that, Timo! You better say something nice or I will make you wear this cake batter!'

'Such a delicate Florida orange blossom, hard to think she was still single until you,' Timo chuckled, wandering into the kitchen and grinning at his little sister. 'Look at you in the apron.'

'I'm making cake!' Christine replied proudly, then pointed at the bowl. 'I timed it for two minutes on the oven clock, does that look right?'

'Yep, you go deal with him-' Bones jerked his head in Tim's direction '-and I'll put this in the oven. You are relieved of mess duty, Nurse Chapel.'

Popping to her tiptoes, Christine pecked Bones' cheek and went to hug her brother hello. God she missed him; it just wasn't the same when they video chatted. She loved the snotty looks he gave her as only a big-brother could, but she wanted to feel his bony fingers poke her in the ribs while he did so. She took the bag from his hand and the bottle, then gasped dramatically.

'You brought me Schlivowitz? Oh, you do love me, don't you?'

'Shloo-what now?' Bones asked over his shoulder as he washed up.

'Schlivowitz, it's a Polish plum brandy,' Tim explained.

'You got it at-'

'Gomolka's, you bet I did.'

'Gomolka's is that place Patrick always took me for ice cream,' Christine added, 'it's this amazing Polish bakery and deli cafe, and the house specialty was plum paczki, and then at Christmas time, they'd make them into a pyramid of deliciousness, then they' pour Schlivowitz over them and flambé them, oh it was so cool!'

'They're like a Polish whoopee pie,' Tim explained to Bones as he turned to them with an intrigued expression. 'Mom insisted we learn about Polish stuff, and we liked it since it made us rebels to our grandparents. We'd swear at them all the time in Polish, and Mom would try so hard not to laugh at us because we'd just butcher it.'

'You bad girl,' Bones murmured to Christine, giving her a hug. 'What do you say we crack that bad boy open? Or you wanna wait until you've had a bite to eat?'

'Ah you discovered Iggy's a little bit of a lightweight, huh?'

'First night I tucked her into bed she was totally bombed,' Bones admitted, knowing the way this male ritual had to go; he tried to send Christine telepathic words of love as he found glasses and poured them each a short brandy and she rightfully squawked at him.

'Excuse me, that was not the first night we spent together!'

'We had breakfast the next morning too,' he pressed on, and Bones wanted to just bite her all over in fun places at the fulminating stare she gave him; it made him grin cheekily. 'I even recall making you your favourite hangover breakfast.'

'Good thing she didn't make her own blueberry pancakes, she'd have ended up as your patient,' Tim joined in, clinking glasses with Bones and winking at his sister who positively had smoke curling out of her ears by now. 'You think that's bad, you should have seen her when Patrick picked her up from her senior prom.'

'Don't you dare, Timo,' Christine warned him as Bones turned on the grill and put a testing hand over it to check for warmth. 'Be useful, and set the table.'

'Oh dare, dare to, please dare,' Bones egged him on while passing Tim cutlery from the drawer.

Being an excellent judge of character, and an even better big brother, Tim took a sip of his brandy and launched into the tale of how Christine hadn't realized the punch at the after-party was spiked with Tyrollean seaweed vodka and she'd tried to take a leak in the box planters at the end of their driveway, and how to prevent their visiting grandparents from seeing Christine totally wasted himself and Patrick had taken her down to the dock at their house. As he told his story, he watched the way Bones gave equal attention to both preparing the meal and the attention he gave Christine. It was a look he'd never seen on his sister's face, the kind that told him however much Tim might tease her, nothing would destroy the bond being forged between the new couple. Even when Bones told the story of when he and Christine had gotten stuck in a lift on Reigel Seven and she was starting to panic because of her feminine hygienic needs and Christine's face was as red as the peppers being grilled, Tim could see there was no real deep-seated freaking out going on.

As he watched Bones wink at Christine just as he drizzled over some sauce on the grilling meat, saw the smile his sister gave him in return, Tim felt as though walking in on them kissing like they had been that morning would be less intrusive. Yes, there was definitely more here than just some fun outer-space fling - Tim had a feeling that when he told their parents about seeing Christine with her new man, his mother would start keeping a notebook about wedding ideas.

'Alright, grab a plate, the grub is ready!'

'I highly doubt something this exquisite could be called grub,' Christine giggled as Bones brought over two sizzling platters - one of grilled meat and the other of veggies to make fajitas with sweet and spicy roasted yams. Cuban food might have been her favourite cuisine, but she had a deep love for well made Mexican, and that love grew when it was made for her by Leonard Bones McCoy on her birthday.

Taking herself over to the table, which Tim had set rather prettily between horrifically embarrassing anecdotes of her childhood, Christine felt Bones' fingertips brush over her back.

'I'd planned for us to eat naked, after…' he murmured in her ear, and Christine's only response was to giggle, as his lips brushed over her cheek. She sat down in the chair he'd pulled out for her, waited while he poured the wine she'd selected in the market that afternoon. 'Suppose we can just make it our refuel snack?'

'Quite,' she murmured back; Christine turned to kiss him back, then heard Tim's emphatic cough, and looked over to see him staring them down. 'Sorry.'

'I know you're a grown-up and all but if that moment in the elevator was a preview on how you plan to violate my baby Iggy, I'd just as soon not have a front row seat.' Tim wrinkled his nose, took a drink of his wine. 'Certain truths a man must accept and tuck into that little box in his brain that has a deposit slot only. Things like, my sister doesn't have sex, and neither will my daughter-'

'Damn right,' Bones agreed, making Christine pat his hand while she tilted her head sympathetically.

'Joanna wasn't flirting too much with Chekov, don't worry.'

'My daughter doesn't fli- okay, seriously, why are we discussing this now?' Bones filled his own wine glass, tapped his fork against it. 'A little toast here. Christine, you are beautiful and smart and talented, you make me feel alive and I love you. Happy birthday darlin'.'

'Aww, I love you too.'

The trio clinked glasses, then dug in with gusto; for a little while the conversation was reduced to the moans and sighs of gastronomic delights and the conversation naturally turned towards food and the fact that all three people present had come from farm life in one form or another.

'We were horse breeders, so my brother and I weren't really country farm kids, we were seen more like country club kids since people would come to us didn't want bacon or pork, they wanted thoroughbreds to be racing champs.'

'And we were always seen as not really being farmers since we didn't have any animals at all,' Tim pointed out, 'and they were saying this as they cracked open our juice to-go pouches.'

'Hypocrisy, thy name is Valencia,' Christine managed to get out between bites, then washed it down with the crisp wine that left a sweet taste of pears in her mouth. 'Speaking of fruit, how is my neph-orange doing?'

'Great. My wife is expecting our first baby, and the last time I talked to Christine, the baby was the size of a navel orange,' Tim explained off Bones' baffled expression, 'and we know it's going to be a boy so she's been calling it our neph-orange.'

'That sounds like something Joanna would do. My daughter.' Now it was Bones turn to give insight to Tim into the man he knew his girlfriend's brother was judging him to be. 'She's about to turn thirteen in August.'

'And what about her mother?'

'Mel and I divorced just after Jo turned three.'

'Why?'

'Tim,' Christine warned him without the previous patience, making Bones take a rather large gulp of wine. 'Play nice.'

'It's a reasonable question. Patrick isn't here anymore, so I need to do double the job of making sure the guy you're so obviously gaga for is on the level.' Tim, now in business man interview mode, shifted in his chair so he was in a comfortable position to ask what he wanted to know. 'Why did things end with your baby mama?'

Bones gave him the snapshot, which had Tim nodding placidly. 'I've never cheated on a girlfriend or put myself at risk to be a daddy from a one night stand, nor have I ever hit or abused any woman in way.'

'Good, we have the essentials out of the way. Do you love her?'

'Tim!' Christine nearly dropped her glass, but she might as well have shouted at the brandy bottle for all the effectiveness her admonishment had.

'Yes I do, very much.'

'You're not just using her for her fun bits?'

'Mother of God,' she muttered, and wanted to crawl under the table as she gulped down her drink.

'Well…' Bones wanted to say that he enjoyed her fun bits but that probably wasn't the way to go with Tim, so instead he cleared his throat and replied, 'If I were just using her to get what I wanted, why would I have waited nearly a year from the time I was interested in her to the time I asked her out?'

'You had obstacles to get out of the way?'

'Wouldn't those obstacles have meant little to me if I really were just some whore looking for a conquest? Would I have taken the time to get to know her, understand her?'

'Fair point. What about your jobs,' Tim went on, now looking at Christine as well as Bones. 'You're his subordinate, isn't there rules about this kind of thing?'

'There are, but they are the kind that are overlooked unless they interfere with command decisions or cause harm to the life and safety of other crew members,' Christine jumped in before Bones could so much as inhale. 'More important would be Leonard's breaking of his oath as a physician, but seeing as the physician who takes care of my medical needs is someone else, that isn't an option either.'

'What about the people you work with, are they aware-'

'They're our biggest fans,' Bones said, cutting him off with a grin, 'and now I think you're just grasping at straws so Twenty-Questions fun time is done, little-big.'

'Yeah, you're right. But you've got a daughter, surely you can understand a man's instinct to protect the women in his life.' Tim reached out his hand towards Christine, gave hers a squeeze. 'So, ice cream?'

'We have cake, remember?'

'We do indeed,' Bones said, and when their guest rose to clear plates, he leaned over to Christine and hissed, 'How'd I do?'

'Let's just say you're getting the kind of thank-you later that will make you think it's _your_ birthday.'


	29. Pony

It was such a small comment, but as they had their dessert and enjoyed the Schlivowitz as well as the other gift TIm had brought with him to treat his sister - a fragrance lamp, with oil designed to smell like a tropical beach - Bones couldn't help thinking of later. Later, when they would get to be alone, later when they could have more room to manoeuvre than just the officer quarters on board the _Enterprise,_ later when they could eat leftover frosting off each other's bodies.

He figured Christine had to be feeling the same way as they sat together in the living room on the sofa, with her hand lightly linked in his, when she asked Tim, 'What time is that meeting tomorrow?'

'Eight-thirty.'

'Might wanna lay off this stuff,' she suggested, holding up her own small glass of brandy with a small smile, then clenched Bones' hand lightly when he went to scoff. 'Imagine what Poppy would say if you showed up with a hangover.'

'Same goes little sister,' Tim pointed out, 'I'm a civilian, and you two are in Star Fleet. Can't have you being in dereliction of your duties, showing up for boarding call hungover.'

'If anything we'll just be tired, seeing as we've gotten to have nearly four whole days of being off the ship while we're on restock and refuel. It's amazing how quickly you get used to not having to be up at the ass-crack of whatever-hundred-thirty to be on duty.'

'Sure, _that's_ why you'll be tired tomorrow,' Tim teased her, and knowing his time with his favourite person in the whole world was up, he drained the last slurp of his brandy from the glass and rose. 'Jokes aside, I do have to get some stuff done before the presentation so thank you once more for being so cool about the last minute change of plans.'

'Oh please, it's nothing,' Bones reassured him, rising and tugging Christine to her feet along with him to walk Tim to the door. 'Now that we know you go off planet from time to time, let us know when we might cross paths and we'll make better plans.'

'I dunno, getting to bug my baby sister on her birthday over her new boyfriend is a pretty good time in my book.' The trademark cheek grin was back in place now, as Tim drew Christine close for a quick hug, and muttered something in Polish to her that had her eyes swimming only a moment, then clearing with bright indignity as Tim added something else that had her swatting his arm.

'Go,' she told him with a wide beaming smile, tickled all over when Bones and Tim did the manly hug-and-back-slap routine. 'Say hi to Mama and Daddy for me.'

'Will do. Love you, Iggy.'

'Love you too, Timo.'

The door slid open, closing behind Tim as he left; once alone with her man, Christine turned and leaned against the door, clapping her hand over her mouth as she tried to suppress the giggles.

'What's so funny?' Bones asked, having seen this level of laughing swiftly turn into hysterical sobbing in women before.

'You. You are the first guy I've ever seen turn the tables on Tim, friend or otherwise.' Christine pushed herself off the door, went to him and kissed him; she let her tongue slip lightly over his lips. 'Usually my friends get all red and squirmy.'

'Well, I'm not most guys.'

'You most certainly are not.'

'I love you so much, Christine.'

'I love you right back.'

'So…now that we're alone, in our apartment, liquored up just enough while still on shore leave in the last few hours of you birthday, anything you can think of to do for your birthday?'

'I know exactly what I wanna do right now.' Christine walked her fingers up his chest until she reached the open collar of his shirt. She felt his breath shudder out, smiled seductively.

'What's that?'

'You.'

With that, she rose to meet his mouth and kissed him hotly, her hands streaking underneath his shirt to find his skin already warming with arousal. Moaning, Christine tugged at the hem, then felt a greasy slick of panic in her gut when Bones' hands gripped lightly around her wrists.

'Babe, what is it?'

'It's your birthday, so I'm the one seducing you.'

So saying, Bones moved quick as lightening and tugged Christine's loose tunic up and over her head, moved his fingers down her back to pop the hooks on her bra so she was half naked in about five seconds. He saw the surprise, the excitement in her eyes for him and licked his lips at the way her nipples were already going to pebbles. Bones kept his touch delicate at first, tracing his fingertips up the sides of her arms and over her shoulders to take her face in his hands. When his lips met hers, he pulled her close only to remember he was still wearing his own shirt; he peeled it up and over his head as he toed off his shoes so they were both bare chested and barefoot as he tugged her towards the spacious, comfy couch.

'Don't think we'll make it to the bedroom this time,' Bones mumbled against her mouth, which made Christine laugh low in her throat.

'We'll be lucky if we make it to the couch.'

'Oh, no, we will, trust me.'

Bones made a show of hauling her up so her toes just grazed the floor and spinning so that when he sat down, his back was against the couch and she was in his lap; it lasted only a moment when Bones twisted them once more and he was stretched out on top of her. He could feel the shift of her hips against his, watched the way her golden waves of hair seemed to fan out and form a halo around her face.

But there would be time to admire her beauty later - right now he just wanted to make good on the desire from earlier to bite her in all sorts of fun places. 'Where to start,' he murmured, stroking his palm down the centre of her body and back up to cup her breast; he loved watching the way her eyes went glassy when he stroked his thumb over her nipple in slow rolling circles. Soon his other hand joined so now the reaction wasn't just in her eyes but her whole body - he felt her dampened palms slip over his arms, up to his shoulders to pull him in close, but Bones resisted the temptation.

'I know, Christine, but right now, I want to watch you feel everything.'

'I…you undo me, Leonard,' she whispered, her voice thick with need for him as she wriggled her hips impatiently against his. 'I want to feel everything, too.'

'All in good time, my love.'

With that, Bones kissed her gently at first, then deepened it as his tongue explored her mouth, traced the outline of her lips before his own mouth began its journey down the side of neck where he found her pulse racing to the beautiful valley between her breasts. It had quickly become one of his favourite places on her body, always trapping that sweet lemon fragrance between them; Bones smiled softly as he kept one hand on her breast and used his mouth on the other. He'd already come to view this as a classic move with Christine, as her reaction never failed to delight him - her back arched so she was in essence giving even more of herself to him for his feasting pleasure, and he suckled lightly on her as his tongue stiffened and flicked back and forth against its heated peak.

Christine let her head roll to the side, the fingers of one hand combing through Bones' hair while the others gripped his shoulder tight. God she loved his mouth, what it did to her body, what it made her feel; surely it had to be a sin to feel this good with a lover. Her hips arched against his once more, and she could feel his own growing arousal as she moved against him.

'Too many layers,' she sighed, 'too much.'

'Indeed,' was Bones' absent reply, and he stood up only a moment to shed his pants and undershorts as swiftly as a snake shedding its skin. Full naked with her now, Bones ranged himself on top of her once more, this time moving his attention to her other breast; he swore he could feel the dampness of the cradle of her thighs double at the change-up in his moves.

The air clogged in Christine's lungs - she wanted to cry out how good it felt but somehow the words became trapped as she'd lost the ability to breathe at the feel of Bones' lips, his tongue so intimately caressing her body. And good God, he hadn't even gone down on her yet, or touched her anywhere else; Christine was certain by the time he sank himself inside her she'd have blacked out from sensory overload.

When he moved back between her breasts, she felt his hands stroked down her sides to her hips, then felt his fingers curl under the waistband of her leggings and quickly slid them all the way down her legs, leaving her wearing a delicate lace thong in a shade to match the top he'd made short work of.

'Mmm, now this will be fun,' he murmured, and continued the trail of kisses he'd started from her lips down to her breasts down her belly to her mons, until he suddenly stopped, making Christine pop up on her elbows.

'Why did you stop?'

'Just trust me.'

'I do, you know-'

Christine's word cut off in her throat as though a switch had been flipped when Bones stroked his hand over her thigh, down her leg to her ankle where he circled it and lifted her foot to rest on the back of the sofa; the other he moved so it was on the floor, and she realized what he was up to. Her head thumped backwards as she felt him taste her skin, moving ever northward on her body.

Bones grinned as he felt her tremble under his touch, his kisses lingering and sticky as he drew out the anticipation. This was something he'd never tried before but had long fantasized about and the fact it was Christine helping him live out the vivid x-rated daydream made it all the better. When he was a whisper from her honeypot, his delicately moved his fingers to nudge the narrow strip of lace aside and hold it out of the way as he teased her with the tip of his nose before giving in and tasting her.

'God!'

Now Christine did find the ability to scream; the feel of still being minimally dressed, even if it was just a scant bit of lace covering her lady business, and having her man fuck her with his tongue like he was doing was utterly decadent indeed. Her hips set a deep grinding rhythm, and she didn't bother to keep quiet at all.

'Feels so good, babe, so…so good, so…oh God, oh do that again.'

'Do what? This?' Bones kept his lips still and dragged his tongue from front to back and let the tip slip ever so slightly inside of her; the thin ecstatic cry Christine gave out was music to his ears, so he kept doing it over and over, each time a little faster. He felt her hand on the back of his head, her fingers clenching as she tried to gulp down air. When he felt her body go stiff and tense, her words reduced to mere syllabic sounds, he grinned and used two fingers to part her sweet secretive lips and drive his tongue inside her, thrusting in and out with the same rapidity he would use with his member until he heard her all but sing out her orgasm, felt the warm rush of it over his mouth.

Only then, when she was floating in the afterglow did he move his hand and strip off her underwear, and positioned himself so he wouldn't ask her sweetly for her to guide him inside her. This time, he wanted to take her, to show her that they wouldn't just make love but that they could also have nights of wild, unbridled fucking.

With her mind still reeling from the first orgasm, Christine barely registered it that Bones had finally gotten her all the way naked as she wanted to be with him. It was only when she felt his hands on her hips pulling her tight against him that it dawned on her; she looked at his face, his eyes, and felt all thoughts leave her head, save for one.

'Leonard, my love,' she moaned, 'fuck me. I wanna feel what's it's like when you fuck me.'

'And what the birthday girl wants, she gets,' he rasped back.

Then, with a thrust of his hips, he was inside her, filling her to the hilt; Bones watched as her eyes popped wide, felt his male ego nearly burst in pride as her mouth fell open in darkly delighted shock.

'Big, so big,' she moaned. 'Again.'

Bones drew himself out slowly, then thrust forward once more; just as he'd done when he'd licked her honeypot clean, his movements became faster and faster until he was gripping the side of the sofa for stability while Christine clung to him. He'd loved the feel of her wrapped tightly around him, but the sensation of her opening for him like this was just as erotic if not more so. Her teeth grazed at his throat, ending on a sob.

How was it possible to feel anymore tonight, Christine wondered as she felt wave after wave of sensation overwhelm her very soul. Everything that had plagued her, every doubt or insecurity, every negative thought she'd ever thought about herself evaporated. In this moment, there was just the two of them, and everything he made her experience.

'I love you,' she all but cried as she fought to find his mouth and fuse hers to it. 'I love you.

She let out a long loud cry as the orgasm all but shattered her psyche, clinging to him as though he were the only real thing left in the universe; his pace was relentless, driving her up and up.

'Again,' she sighed once more, 'make me come again.'

It took everything Bones had not to lose his control then and there, but he was determined to give her what she asked for. His hips moving like lightening, Bones drove her up once more, felt her clench around him and tremble in his arms.

'I love you Christine,' he managed to get out through gritted teeth; it was the last thought he had before turning his face against her throat and let himself fly.

They lay tangled together on the couch, the only sound in the apartment their ragged whistling breathing; somehow their hands had become joined, fingers twined and locked together. Christine stroked her hands over his hair as Bones lay with his cheek pressed against her heart, breath gurgling ever so slightly as he exhaled.

'Well…' she mumbled, 'happy birthday me.'

'Happy me 'n you,' Bones absently muttered. 'Oh, God, Chris, I've never had sex like this in my life.'

'Right back at you.'

'I have a question.'

Christine giggled, stroked his hair once more. 'We can do it again in a little bit, you know, once we have feeling back in our limbs and working motor function.'

'No, besides that.' Now Bones found the energy to prop himself up and look into Christine's eyes. 'What did Tim say to you before he left that had you nearly crying?'

'He…he told me that Patrick would be proud of me for picking such a great guy.'

'Oh, darlin'.' Bones shifted so they were laying facing each other, his arms around her and holding her close. 'What a jerk, should I call him back here and kick his ass?'

'No, it wasn't a bad thing. Tim misses him a lot too, he just lets it out in different ways, is all. Patrick he…he loved birthdays, and he always made sure that me, Tim and him had our own celebration that was just for us.'

'Kinda like what we did tonight.'

'Exactly. It means a lot that he said that.'

Bones said nothing, just kissed each of Christine's cheeks then sat up and tugged her up with him to their feet. 'Come on, why don't we go shower off and clean up, and think of a few more ways to get dirty tonight?'

'Excellent idea.'

'Wait, just…wait a moment.'

Bones looked back, saw Christine smiling at him and was thrown back to the first time that smile had made him feel like a teenager with his first love all over again. 'What is it?'

'I know how amazing the last few days have been, and I've loved every moment of it, but…but the best gift I could ever ask for is you.'

'You are the best woman I've ever known, Christine, and I'm never letting you forget it, ever,' Bones replied, 'and I'm never letting you go.'

'Sounds like a great plan.'


	30. Best Day of My Life

_Well here we are everyone! The last piece of this puzzle...so thankful to all the love that has been shown...the next story is actually a prequel to this one, set about a month before and deals with Spock and Uhura! Also - look for a bonus ch coming up shortly! Thanks again for everything !_

* * *

The morning came all too soon, and with it, the end of their shore leave. Neither Bones nor Christine were terribly thrilled about the idea of both leaving family that was still on the satellite, but they also knew how unbelievably lucky they were that timing had worked out in their favour this time around and they'd gotten to visit with their favourite people in the world outside of each other.

'Think you'll be okay with the idea of Joanna hanging out off planet with her friends without us there?' Christine asked as she folded her clothes from the bureau into her luggage. 'Or are you worried she'll find more hunky Star Fleet navigators to flirt with?'

'Really? You wanna end the last three amazing days on a fight?' Bones complained playfully. 'Bad enough to think she's going into the eighth grade in the fall, last thing I need to think about is her getting all…bothered over a boy.'

'And when she finds one who makes her as happy as you've made me?'

'Then I will try to be supportive as I chase him away and remind her its for her own good.'

'That's my overprotective weirdo.' Christine gave him a hug, felt him kiss her temple. 'We still gonna meet up with the crew at that place Scotty and Sulu recommended for brunch?'

'Cora's Cafe? I don't think so.'

'They have pancakes.'

Bones merely tilted his head to the side and gave him an amused look. 'You seriously think it's a good idea to give _me_ greasy diner breakfast before I get on a shuttlecraft?'

'Well it isn't greasy diner food, according to them but I see your point.'

'Mmm.' He kissed the tip of her nose, then reached for his own luggage. 'Besides which, it's already less than an hour before we have to check in for boarding.'

'How did we manage that?'

'A combination of sleeping in one last time and using shower time for…other things.'

'Oh yeah.' Bones grinned foolishly. 'Best use of loofah mittens ever.'

'Come on there, Doctor Horn-Dog, better go meet up with the rest of our crew before we make good use of this bed again.' Christine turned and gave the ultra comfy king-sized bed one last longing look. 'This very…spacious…ultra comfy…good for rolling around in bed. Think we have time for-'

'Hey, if you're giving me grief over taking our time in the shower, then I'm allowed to make you leave behind the comfy bed.'

'Fair enough.'

'Want a hand with all this birthday loot? Or do you wanna take some stuff down to Uhura and come back for the other stuff in a second trip?'

Christine nearly whimpered when she saw the extra four bags containing the various birthday tokens and trinkets, including her beloved blueberry bush. 'I have a policy that I can carry all my necessary bags with me from point A to point B. It's somewhat pride, but mostly it comes down to not being needlessly lazy.'

'Lazy,' Bones repeated as he took the plant and two more bags while Christine grabbed the other two. 'In what universe would you ever qualify as lazy?'

'I just mean, why waste time on a pointless extra trip if you can do it all in one?'

'Fair point. I used to do something similar when it was my turn to muck out the horse stalls at home,' Bones told her as they headed out, sealing the apartment behind them and taking the express lift to the loading-dock foyer where they'd disembarked only four days before. 'Though, granted I was dealing with shovelfuls of-'

'Daddy!'

Both Bones and Christine nearly dropped their armloads of sundry items and junk when they saw Joanna sprinting past the fountain once more and launching herself at them both, Katie and her parents trailing in her wake. 'Hey sweetheart, didn't think I'd see you today.'

'Oh, we're not gonna miss sending you off, Doctor Bones,' Katie replied, her dark eyes full of happiness. 'Or seeing the birthday girl one more time.'

'Technically the birthday is over now,' Christine reminded them, to which Joanna simply scoffed.

'Today is birthday Boxing-Day.'

'Birthday Boxing-Day,' she repeated, and Joanna bobbed her head like a robin drunk on wrigglers.

'Uh-huh, that's the day after your birthday, like Boxing Day comes after Christmas? One of my Canadian friends at school told me about it.'

'Well, those polar ice-cap saving beaver lovers might be on to something.'

'Thank you many times again for everything, Miss Nurse Christine,' Katie added, giving her her own squeezing embrace.

'Any time. It was a lot of fun.'

'Oh it was,' Joanna agreed breathlessly, then pretended to fan herself when Kirk headed their way. 'Oh, good morning, Captain, sir.'

'Call me Jim, Joanna,' Kirk replied with an easy wink that Bones could see was making her flutter. 'Did you ladies enjoy the party?'

'Uh-huh,' they chorused, with Katie adding, 'maybe you might tell us in advance, then we can really plan it?'

'Maybe you two remember you're fifteen and twelve,' Bones suggested, which had Christine giggling.

'Six-hundred years ago, Katie would be at her prime marrying age, and prospects for Jo would already have been sought.'

'Thank god we've evolved,' Bones replied, then handed over the extra packages in his arms to Kirk. 'Just for that, hold this a moment.'

While the captain struggled to right his balance at the sudden extra weight, Bones turned to his daughter and gave her a squeezing hug. 'You know how much I love you?'

'Yep, I sure do, cause you tell me every day, Daddy,' Joanna replied, a little crack in her voice telling him everything he needed to know about the depth of her love back for him. 'Tell me the moment you're back on board safely, okay? Like, in your quarters, safe and sound.'

'I'll be just fine, sweetheart.'

'Okay.' Without missing a beat, Joanna turned to Christine and gave her the same treatment. 'You'll take care of him, right?'

'I love him too, Joanna, you don't even have to ask.'

'Good. Maybe…maybe he can give you cooking lessons, and then for my birthday, since you'll probably be back on Earth by then, we can do a family barbecue? You, Daddy, me, and some friends?'

'If we are there, it's a date.'

'Good,' Joanna said again, then stepped back, swiped at her now streaming eyes as she saw various red, blue and gold shirted _Enterprise_ crew-members begin to show their Star-Fleet ID and load onto the gang-way. 'I love you guys! Fly safely!'

'Love you too, sweetheart,' Christine called back, as Bones was more than a little overcome with his emotions; she'd seen that look before and knew getting him to say more than two word would result in a break down. 'We'll let you know we're there safely!'

Taking Bones' hand, she tugged him along the tunnel, onto the same shuttlecraft they'd used to leave the _Enterprise_ and ushered them towards their seats while the flight steward dealt with their luggage. When they plunked down in the seats, Christine immediately clapped her palm against Bones' and locked their fingers together.

'It'll be okay.'

'I miss her already.'

'I know, me too.'

'What was all that hole-in-the-head nonsense at dinner the other night, by the way?'

'That was a girl moment between Joanna and myself,' Christine reminded him, feeling his fingers already tensing in anticipation of the terror of flying back to the ship. 'Call me crazy but I think she could use some positive female authority in her life that isn't a teacher.'

'You're not wrong,' Bones agreed, 'but I stand by what I said, I'm not in love with you to try and give Joanna a replacement mommy-'

'No, I know that.'

'But I do know that Joanna's fallen for you like that because you treat her like you do.'

'That's a nice cozy thought.'

'I'd like to do that barbecue party thing too,' Bones admitted as he watched more and more crew filter onto the shuttle. 'I think it would be a lot of fun. Hey, do me a favour.'

'Yeah?'

'Once the flight back gets under way, tell me all the stuff we could do at a party like that.'

'Seriously?'

Bones nodded as the pilot's voice came on and reminded them to put on their safety harnesses, as gravitational pull from the satellite would give them a rocky take-off. 'I haven't had a drop to make this any easier this morning, so I need a distraction.'

Christine kept her promise, and as the shuttle unmoored itself and headed towards the stationary ship, she told him all about the delicious food they'd eat, the presents Joanna would open, the friends they'd invite and the music they'd probably pick; the brainstorming worked and kept him calm until they were docked once more, this time back on their beloved _Enterprise_.

'Kirk messaged you, by the way, I saw it on your PADD,' Christine told him as they headed from their seats, knowing their luggage would be deposited in their quarters shortly, 'something about a senior staff meeting regarding an away mission in a week's time to Planet Q?'

'Okay, thanks, I'll look it over.'

When they stepped out of the tunnel and were back on the loading floor of the ship, they stood looking at each other a moment, both needing to head to their own quarters and neither really interested in being apart.

'Dinner tonight?' Christine offered, and Bones nodded happily.

'Just to be safe, I'll cook.'

'And I'll bring dessert.' She swallowed tightly when Bones gave her one of those searing looks. 'Meaning ice cream or cheesecake.'

'Just to be safe, I'll be freshly out of bowls and plates.' He stepped to her, kissing her lightly on the lips; the move earned some whistles and claps from the crew now arriving from the second shuttle. 'I love you.'

'Love you too.'

'See you tonight.'

Christine watched him go, smiling just for herself, then turned when she heard a familiar excited shriek. Turning around, she saw Uhura flying down the tunnel towards her, Spock marching stoically behind her.

'Hey birthday girl! How was last night?'

'Nothing short of fabulous. Same with this morning.'

'Nice.' Uhura wanted to say more, but when she felt Spock standing so close, she gave Christine a conspirator's wink instead. 'I'll be over in a few, tell me everything.'

'Will do.'

'Nurse Chapel, as I am needed on the bridge at this time, may I escort you in a friendly manner to the lifts,' Spock inquired, and Christine nodded; they walked in silence until they reached the lifts and since most of the crew gave Spock a politely wide berth, it was no surprise they had one of the lifts to themselves.

'Did you enjoy your shore leave, Nurse Chapel?' he asked in what for Spock was a casual yet dignified manner.

Christien thought back to the last two weeks, everything that had happened then that made her time off so much more fun. 'Hands down, best I've ever had.'


End file.
